Raze the Kingdom
by Mshaynez01
Summary: 500 years have passed since Orochimaru was sealed by the Sword of Totsuka. Akatsuki has completed their goals. 500 years later and Orochimaru must give birth to the new free world...whether he wants to or not.
1. Illusions and Fire

_A swirling purple-pink haze was the only thing that surrounded him. Well aside from the illusions that materialized from no particular source. In the form of past comrades and current enemies, they haunted him. _

_Were they illusions…because to him they were very real. _

_Black hair hung over his face, hiding himself. Concealing himself from what…he did not know. It wasn't as if anyone could find him. Except for those ghost; those illusions. They would always follow him so long as he stayed trapped in this place._

…_Where was he exactly?_

_This domain held no life. Held no air. No light. Nothing. This realm… this dream it was like a prison. Not anything existed here. Only him, the ghosts, and the purple mist were all that lived in this alternate dimension._

_Perhaps 'Lived' was not the most accurate term to use._

_He knew how it felt to live. How it felt to experience pleasure, and how it felt to be consumed by pain. By no means was he alive in this place, but he was certain that he wasn't dead either._

_A hand, whiter than snow itself, was placed across his chest. He waited to feel the beat of his heart thump against his cold palm… It never came._

_In pure terror his eyes did widen. _

_He had golden orbs that held a hypnotic and serpentine gaze in them. He remembered how willingly people had killed, stole, and lied for him, just to stare into his eyes a little longer._

_And he did realize that his eyes were beautiful, but they were not the eyes he desired. No, they were not the eyes that he had deceived and sacrificed innocent people for. He did not hold the eyes that knew everything. The orbs that currently resided inside his skull were not that wonderful crimson color that reminded him of the blood that stained his hands everyday._

* * *

There were few of them left, but they had expected many of them would die. They were labeled as rebels or radicals, but they liked to think of themselves as liberators.

Two figures ran down the halls of a building. A building they should not have entered in the first place. A library to be exact. Knowingly, they left the 3rd member of their team behind.

Both practically jumped down the stairs. Neither of them wasted any time, because they didn't have much of it, and if they had died there all the sacrifices would have been for nothing.

They were out of breath from running, and the mask they wore made it more difficult to take in oxygen. They never slowed down and definitely never stopped. Even when the two of them were back outside and under the cover of the midnight darkness, they continued running. They ran until they were outside the village and deep into the mountains.

When one of them thought they were safe, they stopped and rested behind a boulder. The first one to remove their mask was a female. Her silver hair was in disarray. She used her partner's shirt to clean the dirt from her glasses.

The other, who was a male, gently closed his eyes before he spoke.

"Do you have the information?"

The woman nodded her head and removed the backpack she had been carrying. The bag was filled with scrolls and forbidden text that hadn't been seen for hundreds of years. Most of the characters were nearly impossible to read because Time faded the ink in an effort to preserve a secret, centuries old.

"Do you have the supplies?"

It was the woman's turn to question her male counterpart. Then he nodded as he opened a rusty tin box. Its contents were few, but these items were significant to the world's liberation: Although it wouldn't have seemed that way at first glance. Two wooden bracelets, a beaded necklace, and a small bottled filled with blood.

"Soon everything will fall into place." The man said.

"And we will give birth to a new free world" His partner finished for him.

* * *

Beneath his mask, the 3rd member smiled, maniacally; as he continued to pour gasoline around the room. He walked past a window, and caught a glimpse of the full moon. He laughed out loud. The sound was haughty and terrifying.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, but not to himself. The room was filled with the entire guard staff. Most of them were tied and gagged, except for a few who were already dead. Blood and gasoline ran together along the carpet. The stains won't ever come out.

Team member number 3 hummed a melodic tune as he continued to drench everything and everyone in the odorous gas.

He tripped over a pair of legs, but was quickly back up on his feet and laughing at his foolishness.

"I'm sorry. How clumsy of me." He smiles as he apologizes to the old man beneath him. The older man would have forgiven him, if he wasn't going to kill him and everyone else.

Number 3 stood inside the doorframe and removed his mask. His dark brown eyes blended well with the lightless room; he examined each individual carefully. After a while he sighed and removed a box of matches from his pocket.

"I don't want to do this. You all seem like good people, but sadly 'good' does not compensate for your ignorance…"

He struck the match against the side of the box. A small flickering flame became the product of his actions.

The eyes of his soon-to-be victims pleaded for him to change his mind. Cried for him to end the madness.

For a second the man wondered if their tears would be enough to douse his flame.

"…and as a consequence for your blindness…" He threw the match, and everything was engulfed in raging red.

He smiles at the screaming masterpiece he created before turning to follow after his comrades.

"Just one step closer to paradise" He laughed and exited the village and entered into the mountains.


	2. A Different Kind Of Power

* * *

He sat high upon his throne, gazing down at the nameless subordinate beneath him. His perfect posture and the semi-glare in his eyes and the demonic fox he kept at his side gave off a sense of superiority. All men did tremble in his presence. It seemed as if he was some kind of god, and in a way he was.

When the servant did finally speak, his voice was shaking with fear.

"M-madara-sama" He lacked any sort of confidence. The legendary Uchiha only raised a single brow. The lesser of the two men bowed low to the ground to show his submission before continuing to speak.

"I'm sorry to come to you unannounced but there has been an incident..." He paused to steady himself once more. After all the anxiety left his body, he proceeded to inform his master of the events that had occurred the night before. He reported the fire, the deaths, and every bit of information his team had gathered, but it didn't add up to much.

His lord reached an arm out to stroke the back of the beast that rested at his side. Its soft, orange fur felt good beneath his hand, but the monster growled at the contact. Sadly, the fox had to bare its master's touch. It angered the tailed demon to no end that he, Kyuubi the king of all bijuu, had become a pet to some mere human. He growled again.

Madara dismissed the man after he finished his testimony, and began thinking about how he should deal with such insolence. He reached for his neck and grabbed the necklace that hung loosely around it. It was said that he could buy two mountains of gold with the precious item, but he had found it to be a lot more useful than that. The artifact belonged to the man who had started it all. The Uchiha thought it was funny, really. How something so diminutive gave him all the power in the world.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains. The trio worked all through the night to make the preparations for the ritual. They needed to finish before the sun reached the highest point in the sky.

The girl pushed up her glasses as she continued translating the ancient text they had stolen. The second member stood away and watched her work, while the third leaned against a rock and, unconsciously, lit matches. The small flames made him smile. The events of last night remained in his head; the memory still burned bright in his mind. A wicked laugh escaped from his lips. He couldn't wait to make the entire earth burn like that library.

"Hey, Junko, hurry up already" his tone was filled with impatience.

"I'm doing the best I can." The woman pushed up her glasses once more before resuming her duty. She handled the antique scrolls delicately. She was careful not to damage or destroy them.

Hours later Junko finished her translations and started preparing for the ritual. First she drew a circle in the ground, and within it drew a symbol resembling a sword. She then beckoned for her colleague, who held the tin box. He approached her with hesitation as if he was rethinking the entire situation. The arsonist of the group picked up on the other's nerves.

"Don't tell me you're scared, Jin-kun" he teased lightly.

"No, of course I'm not. Don't be ridiculous." Jin quickly ran a hand through his short black hair as a way to hide his tension.

"If you're not okay with this we can find someone else" Junko reassured, but her partner shook his head with determination. He knew he was the only one that they could use.

"I'm fine. Just tell me what I have to do."

She only shrugged her shoulders and gave him instructions.

* * *

_He found himself sitting amidst nothing. His eyes wide open waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did._

_He could sit there for hours if he chose to do so. Maybe he already did. Years passed with every step he took. Time, like most things, did not exist inside this realm. _

_So, one minute or maybe one hundred years later (he couldn't be sure) he began to hear a voice, her voice to be specific .The voice of the only student who was worth teachings. She echoed endlessly in the back of his mind. He closed his eyes and envisioned her. _

_Two fingers pressed, lightly, against his forehead. He opened his eyes, and there she stood in front of him. She looked just as he remembered her. Her brown hair, her chocolate eyes, and dangerous smile spread across her face. _

_Her shoulder still adorned the mark he gave her. He remembered how something that was meant as a gift changed everything between the two of them. He had only wanted to give her power, his power, to make her stronger, but she rejected him. _

_At first he thought nothing of it. He figured that she would succumb to the curse mark and eventually seek him out, but she never did._

_Everyone wanted his power. Sasuke, Kimimaro, the Sound Four; they all wanted his strength, and they all came running to him begging that he make them stronger. Not her, not Anko, his beloved student. Perhaps that was her way of proving that she didn't need him, that she was strong without his power._

_Something inside him welled with pride._

_In that moment he wanted to tell her everything, to express, exactly, how much he appreciated her; even if she was just an illusion. _

_He opened his mouth to speak, but she pressed her small fingers to his lips, and she grabbed his pale hand. _

_Her touch made him feel alive again. _

_She led him through the haze. Never talking, she only smiled. Soon the purple mist around them began fade into nothing. When everything cleared, he realized he was standing inside a circle, and she stood just outside it. He tried to step out but his body refused to move. He questioned her, but she only smiled. _

_Another body appeared within the circle, and he felt himself being sucked into it. He panicked and outstretched a hand for his student to grab, but she waved her own instead._

_The unknown force pulled him in deeper, and he was helpless to fight against it. Everything around him faded from purple to black. _


	3. Unconscious Encounter

_Darkness. A vast sea of nothingness surrounded him like a black hole of some sort. He didn't know what happened or where he was, so he listened, intently, to the shallowness of his breathing, praying that it would provide him with all the answers. _

_Footsteps, soft at first, eventually rose over the sound of his desperate breaths, and soon another man stood before him, a stranger no less, but still vaguely familiar. His eyes looked over the new arrival, briefly, examining him. Abruptly, the man bowed before him. He found himself more intrigued by this new person. _

"_Orochimaru-sama" An eye brow raised and skepticism now controlled his facial expressions. He signaled for the man to rise. _

"_Where I am?" His tone was a little more than demanding. The other just smiled. Orochimaru became more cautious of this gesture._

"_We are currently in the depths of my unconscious mind."_

"_It's a bit dark in here, don't you think"_

"_Well, to be fair, My Lord, it wasn't like this until you arrived" _

_Orochimaru smirked, and the stranger returned to gesture. _

"_Why I am here?" _

"_You won't be for long. When the ritual is completed, you'll leave, but I will remain in this place." _

_Golden eyes stared intently at dark ones, searching for any sign of deceit, before asking the obvious question. _

"_What ritual?"_

"_Sakegari's awakening" The smaller man stated as if it were common knowledge._

"_My friend can explain it to you better than I can, but basically I'm giving you my body to use as a vessel."_

_The long haired man smirked as he took a step forward, effectively invading the other's space, and looked down to him._

"_And what makes you think I'd even want your body? What makes you so special?" He had to stop himself from laughing. Orochimaru saw that this man was healthy enough. He was a bit on the short side. Evenly cut hair black hair and cold dark eyes to match, he was okay but not special, but the smaller man remained unfazed by Orochimaru's critique of him._

"_It doesn't really matter if you want my body or not, My Lord. Like I said before when this ritual is complete you will have complete control of my body, but to answer question, I think that you'll find my skills to be more than useful to you." He turned away facing the other direction_

"_Who are you?" The other's shoulders shook a little at hearing that question._

"…_Jin…Uchiha Jin" Orochimaru's eyes widened but he quickly composed himself once more._

"_Liar" he stated calmly before using a hand to remove a stray strand of hair from his face. _

"_That clan died years ago, and as far as I know there's only one member of that clan left."_

_He heard a suppressed chuckle emit from the supposed 'Uchiha'._

"_Forgive me, My Lord, but the world as YOU know it has changed, drastically, but that's something else my friends can clarify for you." Jin turned around once more and the Sannin found himself staring at crimson orbs. The blood red eyes, he had always dreamed of having. _

_He smiled devilishly when he came to the realization of what was happening. A cold hand reached out to stroke his future vessel's cheek, but it was not a gesture of affection. It lingered on the soft skin for a few seconds before taking Jin's chin into a vice grip._

"_I'm curious, Jin" his voice lacked sincerity._

"_What is it that you wish to gain from all this?" He asked before letting go. Orochimaru was no fool. He knew that one could not take without giving a little in return. _

_The shorter man straightened himself._

"_Orochimaru-sama, I am willing to give you my body, and in return all I ask is that you assist my friends in obtaining their goals" _

_An eyebrow was raised._

"_And what exactly are those goals?" _

_Jin smirked and refused to reply._

* * *

A man stood among the ashes of the destroyed library. The rays from the afternoon sun beat down on his back. His fiery red hair burned with same intensity as the sun's light. His many face piercings glimmered in the powerful sunlight.

He watched as a team of, severely, under paid workers clean up the mess that was left behind. The people's poverty showed through their appearance. They worked with torn clothes, filthy hair, dirty skin, and broken spirits. The workers never complained as they did this. They never whined about the weather being too hot, or the work being too strenuous. They were only grateful.

The man was pleased with the workers attitudes. This was the kind of world he had struggled to create with Madara. A world without war and unnecessary suffering, but to live in such a place man must, first, be stripped of his rights and free will. He looked down at the ashes once more. The burned wood was a clear message that the lifestyle he had fashioned for the world was being threatened.

'It would be best if everyone just forgot this' he concluded and makes his hands perform the proper seals.

Time started to slow down. With each step the people's movements became more sluggish and eventually halted all together. Nothing moved, not even the air. He could physically see with his eyes every molecule and particle that floated through his space. He took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled letting his chakra seep out of him and spread across the village. His chakra traveled across the town and erased its citizens' memories and replaced them with new more pleasant ones.

When the jutsu was completed, the redhead wasn't in the least bit tired, even though the jutsu required a massive amount a chakra to perform.

He watched the workers once more, and almost giggled as they desperately tried to recall why they were there in the first place. He kicked a stone that lied among the remains of the building.

"Such treason can not go unpunished." He decided, and then vanished as stealthily as he had arrived.

* * *

**sorry the update took longer than usual but busy schedule. Plus it took a couple times for me to decide how I wanted this chpt to go, but it's here. Feedback is appreciated Positive or Negative**


	4. The Reply

The night was starless, but the moon had an ominous glow to it. Anyone in the village below could not have known the difference. At this hour, the last few of good souls rested, while the shameless sinners of that place had only begun to spread their plague of wickedness.

A pair of watchful eyes observed the scene from afar, eyes that could very well destroy the world many times over if the holder wished it so.

Next to them, another set of orbs, with a hawk's gaze, stared down with disappointment at the abomination that was his village. He had bleeding eyes. Bleeding eyes that could kill any man's soul many times over, as he enjoyed doing so often. The gentle wind blew his thick, long hair, and a deceivingly young hand clutched the powerful jewel that hung around his neck. It currently shined a dark blue color.

"Are you sure this is the correct solution to a crime with little significance?" The fiery red haired man asked.

"Pein" The darker man started "Surely you don't think that such an act of terror should go unpunished" Pein heard the underlying challenge in the other's words.

"Of course not, Madara, but countering such a crime with an terrorist attack of your own doesn't solve anything"

"Maybe not, however when those heathens set that fire, their message was heard very clearly. Now I am going to give them a message of my own"

Madara removed a scroll from the inside of his long crimson sleeve. He made the correct hand seals to perform a summoning technique.

Both figures had to jump back a few feet to escape being crushed by the enormous beast the Uchiha had brought into existence. It roared with enough ferocity to cause a rockslide. Two tails wagged impatiently as the demon was eager to receive its master's orders. Madara petted the cat of dark blue clouds across the nose. It purred with delight. Pein silently worried that the vibrations from the beast would start an earthquake.

After receiving its instructions, Nibi, went down to that god forsaken village and performed its master's wishes.

Pein watched that creature. His piercings glimmered under Luna's glow. His studied the buildings crushed beneath Nibi's paws, and how the fire that spewed from its mouth incinerated the pathetic beings below. When the faint screams of chaos reached his ears, Madara's message became as clear as the nights sky.

Another gentle breeze came over them, and when it left, so did they.

* * *

The moon was still high in the sky. It illuminated the night with a mysterious glow, while the few stars that had appeared, twinkled around it with equal passion.

He awoke to the sensation of a cautious poking to his side. Immediately, he sat up and effectively startled the woman who was looming over him. Her shock was soon replaced with glee as she realized what she just had done.

Letting his eyes travel up and down, he studied her. She seemed unthreatening and weak. He noticed her silver hair, her glasses and the dark gray eyes behind them. He felt as if he knew that woman. He stood and walked away from the familiar stranger. The woman called after him but he ignored her.

"Kenta!" she shrieked and her remaining partner switched his attention from the small campfire he created to her, and then to the man walking away from her. Kenta walked after him and tried to bring him to a halt. A muscular hand rested on top of a slim shoulder and Kenta soon found the tip of the other man's sword gently pressing against his neck. The sword's wielder held an expression of frustration.

"Who are you?" He finally asked. The sound of his own voice was foreign to him; he hadn't used it for years it felt.

"…Kenta" The pyromaniac answered in his most non aggressive tone. Slowly, the blade was lowered away and he released the breath he had been holding. Kenta took the opportunity look at the other man. Long black hair contrasted beautifully with pale white skin. He followed the purple trail that outlined golden eyes. Gorgeous eyes. Kenta saw the invisible flame that burned within those orbs and he loved it.

"You must be companions of Jin."

"Yes. I'm Kenta, and she is Junko." The bulky man pointed to the petite woman.

The way the moonlight shone on the other man made him look like some sort of angel, but Kenta didn't believe in angels, only demons.

Said angel turned to leave again, and he heard the same woman call out to him once more. He stopped to hear what she had to say. Besides, he was certain that he knew her somehow.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"…Rice Field Country …"

"We can take you there, Orochimaru-sama" He paused at her tone. She had an eager to serve attitude, and he liked that about her.

"Besides, it's dangerous to travel alone" If he had been in his right mind, he would have scoffed at her statement. He was one the most powerful men to ever exist, there were only a few people who actually posed a threat to him.

* * *

The path they traveled was steep and rocky. Junko had trouble keeping her footing and tripped over a rock or two. Kenta walked slowly down the mountain pass struggling to stay balanced and not fall like his comrade.

Ahead of them was Orochimaru. He strode effortlessly down the pass. Each step was light and graceful. The youngsters awed at his perfection. He knew from his surroundings he was in the heart of The Land of Earth. Mentally, he figured that if he kept his pace then he should reach the Sound Village in less than three days, but with those two leeches hanging on to him then the trip will last much longer.

Junko and Kenta struggled to keep up with the Sannin, and almost fell over when the mysterious man stopped abruptly. They watched him watch something that they themselves could not see. Both peered over his shoulders in curiosity to observe what had captured Orochimaru's interest.

Below the Village Hidden in the Stones burned. Kenta eyes grew wide with excitement. The flames danced a beautiful dance for him, and those wonderful screams of death provided the perfect music. Unknowingly, he leaned closer, almost falling off the edge. He wanted this display of art to remain as a pleasant memory in his mind. He watched and he watched and he watched without blinking an eye. And while he watched his eye caught something intriguing. Amidst all the madness stood a magnificent beast. Its astonishing wagging tails fanned the flames that came from its mouth making them even greater and size.

In that moment, Kenta became fascinated with that beast.


	5. The Aftermath

Clouds of gray lazily drifted through the sky. They seemed to be depressed. Clouds swollen with sadness eventually cried their tears of rain.

Below, the people shared the sky's sorrow, as they dripped tears of their own. Only a handful of villagers had survived Nibi's malicious rampage. Those poor souls scavenged the remnants of the town, only to find the dying or dead corpses of their loved ones.

Water mixed with dirt and mud was brought forth. Walking became a challenge, and the people found themselves too weak to move; not that they had anywhere to go anymore.

Madara and Pein stood in what used to be the village square. Now it was an empty flat space. Pein looked around the sad place, and released a sigh of disappointment.

"More unnecessary suffering." He mumbled to himself, but the other man caught his words.

"Really, Pein" His long black hair moved loosely as he gestured to the scenery around the two of them. "Do you honestly think that I've brought about all this death, all this destruction for no logical reason" His calm demeanor was wavering; He took a moment to relax himself.

"Then if there is an explanation for this then I would love to hear it" The Uchiha paused then he looked at his partner with a serious gaze. The fact that he was soaked with rain made him look even more intimidating, but Pein's stature did not falter.

They stared each other down. Neither was willing to blink until the other did so first. The rain poured down on them, relentlessly, but the two refused to let a little precipitation faze them. Finally, Madara released a calm sigh which erupted into a small chuckle. The red head was not amused.

"Pein, do you understand why I decided to share the gift of immortality with you?"

"Because without me, everlasting life would be impossible for you" He did not hesitate in his response. Madara frowned, displeased with what his colleague was implying, Pein knew just as well as the Uchiha that their centuries of dominance were built on each other's unique strengths.

"The world is filled with filthy scourge and worthless scum. Don't you think we should purify the Earth of those pathetic souls"

* * *

Orochimaru walked across the vast plains between the Land of Earth and the next village over. Of course Junko and Kenta followed directly behind him. Above, the sky was blue and clear. A few birds soared across it. Majestically, they spread their wings and let the air currents glide them through the open space.

Junko admired the scene. The birds looked so free as they flew overhead. She could not deny that she felt a slight sense of envy as she examined the creatures. They owned a freedom that she so desperately wanted. Unlike herself, the birds were allowed to soar across the horizon with no rules to guide them, and no boundaries to restrain them. Everyday Junko prayed for a life where she will no longer be bound by her invisible chains.

Kenta walked behind Junko with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. He appeared to be sleep walking, but in reality Kenta was very much aware of his surroundings. In his head he counted his paces behind Junko to avoid bumping into her. He began to hum a tune similar to the one he sung in the library two nights ago.

* * *

Pein stared at Madara with an incredulous look. The rain had stopped a while ago but they were still dripping wet.

"Don't look at me that way. You make me feel as if I'm some madman." Pein snapped out of his transfixed state.

"You are mad if you're serious about this"

"Hmph, I thought you'd be more accepting" He said not understanding why the other was so upset.

"How can I be accepting of genocide!" Madara shook his head before saying

"Genocide is such an inaccurate word. It's more of a cleansing of sorts."

"That's bullshit."

"Don't be so concerned about such trash. Besides, you said it yourself, Pein-san. The world is still in its infancy. It must be purified so society will be able to move forward to achieve its true potential."

"Don't try to manipulate my words, Madara" There was a slight growl to his voice. He turned to walk away.

"Just think about it. We'll use the Rin'negan and the Sharingan and the bijuu to make us the ultimate beings." Madara called out before Pein vanished into the air.

* * *

Orochimaru's head ached with confusion. So many different questions screamed in his mind; each one louder than the last.

"Orochimaru-sama" He heard Junko whine. "Can't we stop to rest for a while?"

"…No" he said coldly.

"But Orochimaru-sama"

"Girl, if you dare to speak again I will not hesitate to rip your tongue out" His voice lacked genuine anger, but he meant every word of the statement. The Sannin wanted nothing more than to slice her neck with his Kusanagi, but he knew that she will be useful to him for the time being. Junko kept her mouth shut, partly out of fear, and partly because she did not have much energy to form anymore words. Junko and Kenta had been working the past three days without sleep or food, and she was having trouble fighting off fatigue.

At sunset Junko had reached her limit. She collapsed onto the soft grass. Her silver hair sprawled all over the ground. Orochimaru noticed this but left her lying there. Kenta did not realize until he had accidentally stepped on top of her. She groaned.

"Get up" He nudged her with his foot.

"…Can't..." Junko said weakly as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Kent was not amused, and saw that Orochimaru continued to walk ahead of them.

"Fine" He grabbed one of her legs and proceeded to drag her across the plain because carrying her the proper way required energy that he just did not have. Junko did not complain as he did this. She was only glad that she no longer had to walk.

* * *

Kenta was soon beginning to feel weary himself, and since he had not yet lost his talking privileges, he thought to ask Orochimaru for a break.

"Oi, Orochimaru-sama" Kenta's _angel_ did not reply.

"I know you must have a bunch of different questions buzzing through your head. We should take some time to explain to you what's going on." The Sannin smirked at Kenta's subtlety.

"Very well, let's stop for the night"

The three of them rested around a small fire they had made. Orochimaru remained awake while he let the young teens get their sleep. He decided he would get information from them when they were better rested.

The light from the fire gave him a warm glow, and he stared blankly into the small flames. Each spark brought forth an old memory of his past life. He began to wonder why he was here, and what these two kids wanted with him. All his thoughts began to give him another headache.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter doesn't make much sense, but everything will be explained in better detail in later chapters. Give me feedback and tell me how good or bad this chapter was. **


	6. New Agenda

The dim lights flickered on and off throughout the dark, spacious room. Only one bulb shined without fail in the back. Underneath its glow sat Madara in a small metal chair. Taking rest in a building that was not yet completely destroyed, he listened to the sound of water dripping from leaky pipes. Rats squeaked in the dark corners scavenging for food. The place reeked of mold, death, and depression. Madara ignored the pungent odor as he was lost in his thoughts. He had been there the entire night conjuring up ways to persuade Pein into his own way of thinking. It would prove to be difficult; Pein was no ordinary subordinate who would just follow orders without question.

The Uchiha for a moment contemplated removing Pein from his plans entirely. With the other gone, Madara would have no need to have his plans approved by a second party. Although the idea made perfect sense, Madara knew killing the rin'negan user would be by far the most difficult thing he had ever set out to accomplish.

Approaching footsteps brought him out of his thoughts.

"So you're back so soon" Madara said with a fake smile but Pein remained indifferent.

"Let's go. We've wasted enough time in this village."

The two of them left immediately after that. When they reached the outskirts of the Stone Village they both went their separate ways. Pein headed for the Hidden Rain Village. It had become a much more pleasant place after he had put an end to the civil war all those years ago. Madara left for the Mist Village. That's where he liked to run most of his operations, and where he would continue to develop his plans for eliminating his colleague completely.

* * *

When Pein arrived in the Rain Village he was greeted by a mass of people who had been waiting for him at the village gate. They were his personal guard.

"Welcome back, Pein-sama" They all said simultaneously as they bowed at their master's feet. He indicated for them to rise with a wave of his hand.

"Do you need anything, Pein-sama" one of the guards asked.

"No, thank you. Just take me to my home"

"Hai" They made a circular formation around their leader and escorted him to his palace.

At his home, a group of servants waited diligently to cater to Pein's every whim.

"Welcome home, Pein-sama" once again they lowered themselves to his feet. Then one servant girl spoke.

"Konan-sama is waiting to hear the news of your investigation with Madara" He gave her a curt nod.

"Very well, then I shall speak with her. You all are dismissed from your duties." Each servant gave him a rehearsed hai before leaving his presence.

Pein found Konan in the garden area, resting next to the rather large pond. She watched the different colored fish swim about in the water. Their multicolored scales reflected brilliantly off the water's surface. Konan dipped one index finger into the pond and lazily moved it through the liquid, playing with the fish. Pein stood behind her and she looked at his reflection in the water. The image was distorted by the ripples she had created.

"Welcome back, Pein-sama" was her warm greeting.

"Hello, Konan. I see you took good care of the village while I was away."

"I did my best" she answered modestly.

"Anyway I need to ask a favor of you" Konan turned to face him.

"And what would that be?"

"Send a relief squad down to the Land of Earth. If they find any refugees, have them escorted here to the Rain Village"

"Hai, and Pein-sama?"

"What?" He said with an eyebrow raised.

"How were things at the Land of Earth?"

"…Nothing that you should concern yourself with" He said not wanting to discuss the details of what had happened. Konan was not offended by his secretiveness. When he was ready he would come to her to explain what had occurred, so she decided not to press the issue any further.

"I wish to retire to my room now. Have a nice day, Konan" He started to walk away.

* * *

The air was humid when Madara walked through the gates of the Mist Village. It did not bother him in the least. He had more important things on his mind. The people of the town cleared a path for Madara to travel. All of them were too afraid to risk what might happen to them if they were to get into the Uchiha's way.

He sat in his throne room with one leg crossed over the other and his chin rested on top of his fist. His brows furrowed in frustration, and an exasperated sigh escaped his lips. Kyuubi, like the good pet he was (or like Madara forced him to be) waited by his master's side. Madara reached out to scratch the beast behind his ears. His hands were cold and chilled the demon to his bones. The Uchiha's touch was like death, and Kyuubi was afraid his master's hands would suck all the warmth from him.

"Kyuubi-kun" He cooed. "It seems I have a small problem on my hands"

"Don't bore me with the details of your insignificant life, human" The fox growled. Madara rose and took a place in front of the demon and gently yanked the spiked collar that was fastened snugly around the beast neck before he spoke.

"My dear fox, I think you have forgotten who runs things here. Now tell me, which of us is chained, and which of us holds the key?" Kyuubi could not contain his laughter as he proceeded to mock the Uchiha. The vibrations from his laughter echoed off the walls of the room. Small particles of the ceiling fell to the floor.

"That's funny coming from a man who will not do so much as to take a piss without his partner's authorization" Madara was not laughing.

"I'm afraid you've got it all wrong-"

"No, you are the one who is mistaken" The fox inched closer until his nose completely covered his master's torso. Madara stood there, totally unafraid. That was perhaps the only quality Kyuubi respected in that man, his lack of fear. "I've watched you" he continued "The way you run every little aspect and detail by that younger male and how you sit there like a good little dog and await his approval. I've seen that look in your eye and it's disgusting" He turned his head away, refusing to look at the human. "It makes me wonder who the true alpha male is, and sometimes I think that perhaps I'm serving the wrong master."

Madara pondered all the things the beast had said. He was not even the slightest bit angry with his pet for his blatant disrespect.

"You're right. Maybe I have included Pein into too many of my plans" An evil smirk crept across his face. "Very well, I'm off to the Land of Fire. If I wish to put my plans into action then I will need their cooperation" Madara walked towards the exit. Kyuubi listened to the sound of his sandals echoing off the stone floor. He cringed at each step.

* * *

The Leaf Village was a busy one. The streets were wide and overpopulated with people, most of them beggars and bums. Madara walked through the roads. He ignored the panhandlers and scammers that constantly approached him as he made his way to the Uchiha manor. Madara had not had dealings with his clan for quite some time. The Land of Fire was still allowed to act as an independent nation, so he had no reason to intervene in their affairs. As he became engrossed within his own thoughts he soon found himself approaching the entrance of the Uchiha mansion. It was a bit small in comparison to Madara's own home, but it was still respectable in size. He strolled past two guards, refusing to acknowledge their existence. The guards instantly recognized who he was and had not dared to stop him.

His footsteps made a soft sound on the wood floor as he entered the room. Inside, no one greeted him because the room was empty. That unnerved him a little. Keeping his cool, he trekked down the halls. He had the entire building memorized. When he found the room he wanted, he opened the door without as much as a knock.

In the small room, he found the clan elders having a meeting of some sort. Madara really had no interest in whatever it was since it had no relevance to his own agenda. The elders turned to see who had so rudely interrupted them. When they saw that it was no other than the legendary Uchiha himself, they rose to greet him despite the fact that their bones ached in protest to such sudden movement.

"Good evening, Madara-sama" The eldest spoke in a frail voice. "Please have a seat. Would you care for tea?"

"Thank you" Madara said as he sat in a chair closest to him. A servant had brought him a small cup of steaming tea, and Madara sipped it.

"It is an honor to have you in our presence after all these years. Please tell us what it is we can do for you"

"Yes there is something" He said and gave them a smirk with a devil's charm that only a fool would trust.


	7. Getting Answers Part I

Rice Field Country was exactly as Orochimaru remembered to be. Weak people tried to survive off of this barren land. Orochimaru had always thought of them as pathetic and detested them for their frailty, but as their leader he never felt the obligation to help them unless it was for his own benefit. The natural scenery was an endless terrain of dead grass, dead animals, and dead hope. Orochimaru passed through small towns that were filled with a sad kind of people. He snorted as he observed the poor trying to help the poor. There was no point in such things. The nostalgia of all this made Orochimaru crack a sick smirk that was only befitting to a mad genius such as himself.

After becoming reacquainted with his old home, He halted at the sight of a familiar building. The entrance was the only section that was visible above ground. The inside was covered in dust from the floor to the walls and the stairs that led to the underground base. Junko sneezed once then again and finally a third time.

"What is this place?" She wiped her nose with her sleeve. Orochimaru said nothing and descended down the dark staircase into the pitch blackness. The teenagers were reluctant to follow him.

"Do proceed with caution children." Orochimaru warned in a taunting voice. "There are many things lurking in these shadows that will easily burn, cut, or simply eat you if you are not careful." The sannin needed no light to navigate his way through the underground structure. He designed the entire building therefore he knew the location of every room and corner of the place. Junko and Kenta proceeded down the stairs with their senses on high alert.

"Isn't there a light switch or somethin' around here" Kenta spoke with irritation. His hands were moving across the wall for a means a support.

At the bottom of the steps there were two hallways lighted by torches and no sign of Orochimaru.

"How are we gonna find this guy?"

"Orochimaru-sama!" Junko called out to him with a slight whine in her voice like a lost cub crying for its mother. Her call was met with a condescending chuckle that emitted from both of the hallways. "This is obviously some sort of test." She concluded.

"That or he simply wants us to get lost in this place forever."

Kenta grabbed one of the torches off the wall. He held the flame close to him for no other reason than to feel the heat against his cold skin. Orochimaru moved down the opposite hallway. He let those teenagers wander, aimlessly, around his labyrinth until he felt like dealing with them. He went room to room and thrusted the doors open, practically tearing them off of the hinges as if he was looking for something in particular. The Sannin had no idea what he was in search of but he was certain it could be found in one of those rooms. Everytime Orochimaru found a room or lab devoid of anything of value his anger continued to rise dangerously higher. The next door he came across he kicked violently to the opposite wall of the room. There was a mini explosion of dust that filled the room and Orochimaru's lungs. When the dust settled he saw that that room was empty as well. That left many questions thrashing about in his head. Every second a new thought screamed louder than the previous. But there was one singular important question that clawed and yelled endlessly in the back of his skull.

"Where the fuck is Kabuto!" The Serpent Lord all but howled throughout the building. He knew something was horribly wrong when he awoke from his dream prison and his trusted medic was not beside him. Who else but Kabuto would have the skill and the motive to free Orochimaru in the first place. The medic should have been right there at his master's side giving him information on the current situation and patiently awaiting the Sannin's next orders all while wearing that annoyingly sly smirk of his. Unfortunately, Orochimaru did not have his medic. Instead he had two infuriating teenagers and the body of some strange man who claimed to be an Uchiha. Nothing made anysense and he was not sure what to do about it. And not knowing what to do only fueled his burning rage. He threw himself on top of the bed. Dust flew everywhere and covered his clothes and got into his black silky hair. The matress was hard and stiff like wood but Orochimaru ignored all of those things and for the first time in days he let his thoughts lull him to sleep.

* * *

_Orochimaru did not dream at all instead his mind delved into his unconscious mind. It was still a dark and empty void. A hollow echo resounded with every step he took. He stood for a moment and then he called out._

_"I know you're in here sulking about in this place. Come here." Jin slowly crept into the line of vision of Orochimaru. _

_"You called, My Lord?" The alleged Uchiha kneeled before the Sannin, averting his gaze as a sign of respect. A short awkward silence followed. "Is something wrong, My Lord?"_

_"Everything is wrong!" The younger male flinched at the sound of Orochimaru's scraping voice. "What do you children want from me!"_

_"I've already requested of you that you assit my comrades in obtaining their goals, My Lord." Orochimaru gave an exasperated sigh. His chakra stirred violently due to his rising anger. _

_"What goals are you talking about?"_

_"I'm sorry, My Lord, but it isn't my place to tell you such information." Jin really was not expecting the foot of his lord to stomp the back of his head. So when Jin's forehead came into contact with the ground, he could not hold back the yelp that jumped from his throat. Orochimaru felt glad to finaly be able to flaunt his power and superioriety after being locked away for an inmeasurable amount of time._

_"Don't tell me where your place is and where it isn't. That's not for you to decide."_

_"Forgive me, My Lord." Blood ran like water at the top of Jin's head and across his face. "I did not mean to overstep my boundaries with you." _

_Orochimaru moved a stray strand of hair that had gotten out of place and resumed his earlier conversation in a cool voice._

_"What are these goals that your comrades wish to achieve?"  
_

_"My friends" Jin paused as he searched for the right words. "My friends have a vision for the world. They wish to liberate our society by destroying the very foundation that holds it together." _

_"You are very good with your words, Jin. You've told me everything and I still know nothing. Why is it that you can't be open with me? Do you not trust me?" Orochimaru mocked genuine offense. "But there is still something that confuses me. You've told me what your friends what, but what do you wish to gain from all of this?" _

_"My Lord, Don't make the mistake of assuming I have an important role to play. I am simply a blood offering to a god, a sacrifice to you. I have given you my body to use as a vessel and that is all I'm useful for."_

_"Hmm is that so?" Orochimaru turned from Jin and walked away. "Then I guess I have no more words to waste on you." _

* * *

**Finally another chapter for you guys. Sorry it took way too long but my life gets in the way of my passion. So chapter 8 should be out soon.**


	8. Getting Answers Part II

Orochimaru's lair was a dark, massive maze that led to nowhere. Rats squeaked and their shadows scurried off of the walls in search of food. If the rats did not scurry quickly enough, then they were swallowed up whole by the snakes that caught them.

"How big is this place anyway?" Kenta waved his torch from side to side in an attempt to gain a better view of the dank empty hall.

"I swear we'll starve to death before we find a way out of this place"

Junko moaned.

"Please, don't even mention food. It's been days since out last meal" her sandals made clopping noises as she walked across the stone floor.

"Besides, Orochimaru-sama won't let us die-" her sentence was cut short as she fell through one of many trap doors set up in that place. Junko barely grabbed the ledge in time to save herself from falling to her death. She hung onto the ledge suspended in the air. Something wrapped itself around her leg. Cold and scaly. Snake. Then another coiled around her other leg. The girl fought the urge to scream. The snakes hissed at one another. She tried to pull herself over the ledge but found she did not have the strength.

"Kenta, a little help, please" she said hiding the panic in her voice. A sigh then a strong hand gripped a little too strongly around her tiny wrist. The snakes hissed louder now. They bared their fangs that were filled with venom ready to bite at the slightest movement.

Without thinking or caring, Kenta grabbed one of the snakes and angrily threw it back into the pit. The other struck out and latched itself onto Kenta's arm and injected its venom into him. The man was unfazed and simply burned the serpent with the torch's flame. It screamed and contorted in pain for a few moments before Kenta stomped on its head with his heel.

"Thanks"

Kenta cut open his arm to let the venom drain from the wound.

"Whatever"

Without anymore surprises the duo came across an ordinary door made of decaying wood.

"Do you think he's in there?"

"I doubt it" Kenta opened the door and it easily broke off the hinges due to years of rust. The lights flickered on for them to find that Orochimaru was not waiting inside, but they discovered that this room must have been of great importance back when the building was in use. An ancient laboratory filled with the remains of unfinished experiments. Junko awed at the sight of these things. She lifted and tinkered with things with a cautious curiosity. Kenta made no effort to touch anything. These things were beyond his comprehension and that made him uncomfortable.

"Look at all of this" the girl flipped through reports and analysis she had found in a drawer.

"The accomplishments he made here, they defy the laws of nature. This man was amazing…he is amazing" Junko could not describe the hope she felt in her heart.

"I swear you're such a nerd" Kenta rolled his eyes. He did not care about experiments or stuff of that category. That was not why he was doing this.

"What exactly are you children doing in here?"

Junko jumped at the voice of her lord. In the doorway stood Orochimaru. He held an expression of manic glee. He turned his attention to Kenta and saw the blood dripping from his wounds.

"I warned you children to be careful" he smiled as he imagined their near death experiences. Orochimaru studied those two. They were so young. Young and weak. He could have killed them without even trying. Like helpless baby birds.

"The truth is that I need answers. It is also true that you have all the answers. The problem is that I don't trust either of you"

Orochimaru signaled for both of the teenagers to sit down and removed two small vials from his pockets. An ominous green liquid swirled inside the containers. Kenta eyed them with instinctual suspicion.

"Drink this"

Junko downed hers without hesitation but Kenta was reluctant. He sniffed it but it had no odor. Finally, he allowed the strange liquid to fall down his throat. They waited for a few minutes to see its effects but nothing happened.

"What was the point of that?" Kenta asked.

"Like I said earlier I don't trust either of you. So I looked in these ancient labs of mine and came across some remnants of an unfinished experiment I started years before. You should start feeling the effects about…" Orochimaru counted down in his head.

"Now"

On cue, Kenta fell to the floor screaming. His muscles twitched violently and uncontrollably. Saliva dripped out the corner of his mouth making him look like some mad animal.

"What did you give us?" Junko asked partly frantic and mostly curious.

"It's a truth serum I developed. I only tested it once. Half the subjects experienced violent muscle spasms like your friend there" Kenta's screams had devolved into animalistic grunts. Junko stood to say something more about the experiment but her legs stopped working and she fell, face first, onto the floor like some worthless rag doll. Her glasses flew across the floor.

"And the other half experienced complete paralysis. But you need not to worry. These effects should wear off in a few minutes…or hours. It varies from person to person"

Junko breathed heavily. Kenta's eyes were red. Blood red. Junko never feared her comrade so greatly before that moment. She felt the figure of lord looming near her. He towered over her petite self powerful and superior. Junko never felt so small. She desired to face her master but her body would not comply. The nerves inside her shut down unable to send signals throughout her body.

"What do you want with me?"

"We need your power to obtain our freedom"

"You're telling me that meager slaves released me from my prison"

"We are not slaves in the traditional sense of the word, but we are still bound and oppressed no less"

Orochimaru was amused with the anger, hate, and desperation that filled her voice. He never thought that a woman so small and frail was capable of such emotions.

"Tell me, who is the man that keeps you chained down?" he mocked her. He no longer took the girl seriously even though he knew this was the absolute truth spilling from her mouth.

"The Gods" The sannin had to laugh at such a statement. Perhaps, delusions were another side effect of his serum. Orochimaru was not dismissing the idea that her gods existed. Orochimaru believed in gods he simply had no use for them.

"I know that I must seem delirious. Maybe I am. Maybe we are but please make us strong so they will kneel before us with desperation in their eyes"

Junko would have molded her hand into a fist if she still had control of her arms.

"Powerful words from such a small girl. What is your name again?"

"Junko"

"Your full name" his voice was only slightly threatening.

"Yakushi Junko"

Orochimaru quickly snatched the poor girl by the collar of her shirt. She yelped like a kicked puppy.

"Where's Kabuto?" Orochimaru was forceful and vicious. He shook her with a dangerous ferocity. Junko was an infant in his arms. He dropped her. Her body made a loud thud against the floor.

"He's gone" she coughed.

"Gone to where?"

"No, he's gone. Dead"

Orochimaru used all his energy to prevent himself from crushing the girl's skull.

"How?"

"Old age. He was my great-great grandfather. He died long before I was born"

The honesty of her words made something in the sannin's head snap. Orochimaru just could not fathom Kabuto growing old and having children. Orochimaru knew Kabuto for most of the young medic's life. The boy was barely into his twenties when Orochimaru was sealed away.

"How long have I been locked in that prison"

"According to the timelines in ancient texts-" The sound of her voice was analytical and robotic, just like Kabuto's.

"-then you've been sealed away for almost five hundred years"

Golden eyes widen in disbelief but everything he was hearing could not have been a lie and he knew that. Orochimaru had never been so confused in his entire life.

Five hundred years, fifty decades, five centuries; there were so many different ways to describe it. Five hundred years of his life was gone. Five hundred years worth of achievements were forgotten and expired, but Orochimaru was eternal. So long as time existed so did he.

Orochimaru dug his nails deeply into Junko's arms. A river of rubies trickled down the lengths of her sides. Thankfully to the serum she felt no pain as her lord inflicted these wounds upon her. He wiped the blood away and hoped that horrendous scars were left behind. He found nothing. Her injury had healed instantly. Hyper cellular regeneration. This girl was no liar. Orochimaru looked away from her and stared off into nothing. A few moments passed.

"Why me?"

"Cause you're the only one who's strong enough"

It was Kenta who spoke this time. His voice was strained as he fought the effects of the serum and attempted to regain control of his body.

"We are only human. The people we are up against are not ordinary men. In fact, they're beyond men and the laws of nature. They're Gods…demons"

With that said, Orochimaru walked away from the two. His raven hair shifted lightly. He stood in the doorway for a moment before he set out into the hall.

"When you recover, come find me and I will make you stronger"

* * *

The rain poured down relentlessly in the village. A storm was approaching. The clouds were so dark. They were heavy with condensed hatred and they were going to release that hatred on top of the town and the rest of the world. The wind howled and pressed forcefully against windows and doors as it sought refuge from the storm. A flash a lightning followed by a boom a thunder. The wind howled louder.

Pein watched all of this from the balcony of his home. His clothes were drenched. Mother Nature was angry and he knew exactly why.

"Wouldn't you rather be inside, Pein-sama?" Konan called from inside his bedroom. Pein stared intently beyond the Rain Village and in the general direction of the Land of Earth.

"Pein-sama?"

"He killed so many people" he said abruptly. Konan sighed gently and stood beside her master and friend in the pouring rain. Another flash of lightning.

"The refugees from the Land of Earth have been successfully escorted here into our village" she offered her report as words of comfort.

"How many?"

Konan paused at the question before answering.

"Less than 50"

A moment of understood silence before the loud boom of thunder.

"He's planning the end of society. The end of peace. The end of everything"

Konan looked at him who refused to look back at her.

"Then stop him"

There was a slight hesitance in his voice.

"How?"

* * *

**Yes chpt 8 is here!! Only 3 more days of school!! Then I can write even more!! but seriously school sucks.**


	9. Tea and Politics

It was a hot day in a small town in Rice Field Country. The trio had left Orochimaru's lair earlier that day and stopped through the small town to take rest. Owners of shops sat in the shade of their poorly built porches waiting to scam wandering costumers. All along alleyways stray dogs panted heavily to relieve themselves of excess heat. In the streets thugs loitered around waiting to cause trouble.

Inside a small dirty restaurant, Orochimaru sat drinking tea from a slightly cracked cup. Junko and Kenta were seated across from him. They were devouring their meals with savage instinct. It was several days since the last time they had any source of food.

Orochimaru watched them with analyzing eyes trying to figure what exactly these people were.

"You're not shinobi" it wasn't a question. The sannin could tell from the flow of their chakra that the two teenagers knew nothing of the ninja arts. He figured he would have to teach them from scratch.

"Lower your voice. That word can cause a lot of trouble if the wrong people hear you" Kenta warned. He looked around the restaurant. It was rather busy and full of people too engrossed within their own problems to pay any attention to the three. Orochimaru made a mental note to question what Kenta meant later. For now he had other questions for them.

"What exactly do you two do when you're not destroying entire villages?"

The teenagers choked at his joke. Then Junko spoke first.

"Well, before I met Jin, I worked with my father in a small health clinic in our village. It was only a year ago that Jin requested that I become his personal physician and this whole bringing you to our time started a few months ago."

Orochimaru refilled his cup and shifted his gaze to Kenta.

"And what about you?"

Kenta lifted his face from his plate.

"There isn't much to say really. I didn't do much before I met Jin except survive day to day"

Orochimaru thought about their stories. They really did not have much to tell him and so that meant that these children were completely uninteresting or that they are hiding something from him.

"I see, it's as if your entire lives revolve around this Jin" Orochimaru leaned closer over the table. "Why is he so special?"

Kenta and Junko fumbled with their tongues as they tried to find the right words to describe Uchiha Jin.

"It's not Jin himself. It's more of what he represents and what he has given us"

"And what exactly is that?"

"Hope…" answered Junko with an undertone of sorrow.

"And a purpose" Kenta finished.

Orochimaru smirked devilishly at the two of them. Perhaps they were more interesting than he previously thought. He simply would have to pry it out of them. The teens went back to their somewhat underprepared meals. Orochimaru finished his tea and thought to himself quietly until another thought ran across his mind.

"Jin mentioned something about some sort of ritual used to free me"

Junko slurped her cold soup in a most unattractive manner. Then she hiccupped.

"Ah yes, Sakegari's Awakening. It truly is interesting. I mean in the beginning when Jin first showed me the texts I was a bit skeptical. I mean its existence even predates the creation of the ninja arts" Junko spoke faster than Kenta's ears could listen, so he tuned her out. She took a deep breath and continued her explanation.

"You know of the Sword of Totsuka, correct?"

"Of course I do. It's a legendary sword with extraordinary power and the only sword able to defeat my Kusanagi. Not to mention it was the cause of my imprisonment for the last five hundred years" Orochimaru could taste the bitterness in his tone.

"Exactly"

"So sakegari's awakening is the ritual that can reverse the swords power"

"Exactly! " Junko said a little too excitedly. "And all that was necessary was a sacrifice to host your soul"

Orochimaru nodded.

"That reassures me. If you two are capable of performing a ritual such as sakegari's awakening then training you shouldn't be difficult"

Soon he finished his tea and rose from the table.

"Let's go. We're done here"

Junko paid for the meal and she and Kenta walked after him.

"Where do we go from here?"

"Back to the village, Jin said it would be better to take you back home as soon as we could"

"So you've thought this far ahead" Orochimaru said more to himself than to the others. "Where is home?"

"The Leaf Village"

The trio rested in the forest. They were located along the borders of Fire Country and were only several hours away from the Leaf Village. Kenta sat alone against the trunk of a tree. The look on his face was vacant as if he was detached from the rest of the world. Junko sat facing Orochimaru on an old and rotting log. The young girl spoke feverishly rarely pausing to breathe. Orochimaru concentrated on her lips and tried to give the words a tanigible form as the spilled from her mouth.

"So you see, Orochimaru-sama, the entire purpose of bringing you here is to bring about the downfall of 'The Gods'" She put air quotations around her last words. "But back during your time they were known as Pein and Uchiha Madara"

Orochimaru was not surprised at this new information. He had had a feeling that Akatsuki was involved in this mess. Junko continued talking.

"They use the power of extraordinary beast, like the one we saw in Earth Country, to terrorize countries and have somehow used them to achieve eternal life.

Orochimaru stopped her. He ran his pale hands through his raven hair. He took time to process everything Junko had told him. The young girl took the moment of silence as an opportunity to actually take in the appearance of the Sannin. She never noticed how breathtaking and beautiful her lord was because she had been bowing at his feet since he had arrived. In his face there was a delicate balance of femininity and masculinity. Orochimaru looked nothing like how she had imagined him in the history books she had read. In most books, Orochimaru was described as a sadistic, vicious, and manipulative monster who would not stop at anything to complete his goals. Although Junko had been subjected to his sadistic side personally, none of the things mentioned in her books seemed apparent in his features. But Junko realized she knew absolutely nothing about this man other than what was provided in her books.

"Junko"

She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. It was smooth and seemed to caress her name as it left his lips.

"Is it true that you and your friend want my help to defeat Pein and Madara"

"Hai!"

"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

She flinched at the sudden harshness in his tone

"My deepest apologies-"

"But" he continued. "I guess I have no choice" The sannin declared with new resolve.

He looked briefly in Kenta's direction. The boy was still spacing out.

"I find your friend to be quite disturbing"

Junko laughed nervously and fidgeted with her glasses.

"Well, Kenta-san is um…special"

"Earlier, when we were back in the restaurant, he mentioned something interesting to me"

The girl thought back to the scene in Rice Field Country while biting down lightly on her thumb.

"Oh yes, his shinobi comment. I can explain that for you too. Okay, since the reign of Madara and Pein, practice of the shinobi arts has been outlawed. No one is allow to teach, study, or practice them; not even members of noble clans. Now in this time just saying the word ninja is considered taboo."

Orochimaru eyed her with amusement. His life had been nothing but interesting since he met Junko and Kenta.

"I see. Well, let's start moving again. The sun is starting to fall"

"Umm Orochimaru-sama?"

"What, girl?" The sannin snapped at her annoyed that she wasn't moving.

"You're not going into the village like…that?"

He chuckled musing over the idea of simply strolling into the village that he betrayed and tried to destroy five hundred years ago like nothing ever happened.

"Of course not" Orochimaru ran a hand down his face and effectively released the genjutsu that made the anatomy of the host appear like the sannin's original body. His long raven hair became shorter. The color of his skin was no longer deathly pale. Soon Junko found herself staring at the body of Uchiha Jin but ominous glint in those dark eyes clearly belonged to Orochimaru. "Now shall we go?"

At nightfall they arrived at the gates of the Leaf Village. The wall surrounding the city was still enormous like back in Orochimaru's time. Orochimaru felt his contempt for this place boiling inside him. The guards at the post noticed his arrival.

"Welcome home, Jin-sama!" cheerfully they greeted him. Orochimaru forcefully contorted his lips into what resembled a genuine smile instead of his usual condescending smirk.

"Jin-sama?" He whispered curiously to the girl beside him.

"I told you, didn't I? Jin is the head of the Uchiha clan"

"You failed to mention this information to me"

"My deepest apologies, Oro…Jin-sama" she corrected herself. "Hurry, Kenta will escort you to The Uchiha Manor. I must return to my father and our clinic" Junko quickly departed from her lord and comrade.

Kenta led the way to the Uchiha Mansion. Orochimaru could not help the sick feeling that stirred up inside his stomach as he walked through the streets of his old home. But the Leaf Village changed drastically since his days in that place. Instead of the prosperous and joyous town that he grew to loathe, it was now a poor village filled with suffering and misery

And that made the sannin smile.

* * *

Madara smirked at the surprised faces of the clan elders. He had just his plans for this village. They clearly thought that the ancient Uchiha was several kinds of insane, but it didn't matter if they disagreed with Madara's beliefs because they were simply too afraid to deny the man anything he desired. The elders talked amongst themselves and Madara waited patiently.

"Madara-sama, I'm sorry but we'll need more time to discuss this matter when the clan head returns."

"Of course, I completely understand." If Madara couldn't get a yes from them now then he would simply get it later. He had time to spare. "Where is the young man?"

"He's been away for quite a while. It's almost been five months now. He insisted that he needed time away from the village in order to go off on a spiritual journey to find himself. Jin has always been a vague and confusing man"

Madara studied his fingernails. He found them more interesting than the elders' excuses.

There was a soft knock of the door.

"Enter" Madara demanded as if it was his own home. A small servant girl kneeled in the doorway with her head bowed.

"Jin-sama has just returned to the mansion. Shall I send him in?"

"Please do"

"Hai"

The servant disappeared from the doorframe and in her place came Uchiha Jin, or who they thought was Uchiha Jin.

"Welcome home, Jin-san. Come and sit' Madara instructed.

Jin seated himself next to the legendary Uchiha. Madara gave him a big smile filled with twisted malice. Jin was undisturbed by this.

"What is so important that I am not allowed five minutes of rest upon my return home" he said not wanting to waste any time.

The elders grew uneasy at the young master's disrespectful attitude in front of Madara.

"Of course you must be tired from all of your traveling. I'm glad you made it home safely. Life outside these walls is a bit dangerous"

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed"

Madara grew suspicious of the younger man's tone. He turned in his seat and intrusively pressed his face into Jin's. His long hair curtained around the two of them. The elders grew anxious at Madara's weird behavior. Jin only smirked at his actions.

"So you haven't seen anything unusual on your journey?"

He made the tips of their noses touch.

"I can't say that I did"

Madara stared at Jin. His orbs were analyzing him and his body language.

"Well then" he pulled away from the other man. "Your adventure must have been really boring"

Madara sprang from his seat and walked to the window. He indicated for Jin to follow him. They people outside looked like tiny insignificant ants from their view.

"What do you see out there, Jin-san?"

"…Nothing of interest"

Madara sighed.

"Wrong answer. What I see is rebellion waiting to happen"

"I don't understand"

"Of course you don't. You're young and naïve. Plus you haven't lived nearly as long as I have"

Jin laughed inwardly to himself. The man inside this body was a lot older than Madara suspected.

"Then please enlighten me"

"Do you know the noble clans of this village?"

"Yes"

"List them"

Jin was thrown off by this impromptu quiz.

"…Akimichi, Aburame, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka. What's your point?"

"Tell me what each of those clans have in common."

"…I don't understand"

"It's really simple. All of those people are connected by their hate for us Uchiha"

Jin started to connect the dots.

"You want them exterminated" he concluded. Madara smiled.

"You catch on quickly, Jin-san. So will you help me?"

"Sure" he answered without thinking twice.

"Jin-sama, you can't be serious!" One elder exclaimed. "Think about this"

"What is there to think about? Madara-sama's logic is flawless"

"Madara is one thing, but surely we will be subjected to Pein's wrath if we do this"

The mere mention of the rin'negan user's name was enough to send Madara over the edge. In the blink of an eye he killed the old man. The air in the room was lost and no one could breathe. Jin hid his amusement behind a stoic face. Soon Madara regained his calm.

"You need not to worry about Pein. I will deal with him. Are there anymore objections?"

The silence that fell upon the room really made Jin want to burst into laughter.

"When would you like to put your plans into action?"

"Tomorrow night"

"Fine. Then at nightfall tomorrow those clans will be no more"

* * *

**That was chapter 9. Chapter 10 will be here soon and if were lucky chapter 11 will come soon after. I you have any questions about this story or my other stories or anything else feel free to PM me. **


	10. And His Game Begins

At sunset, Madara stood on the balcony overlooking the entire village, the village that would soon be reduced to ashes, well most of it anyway. The gentle breeze lightly lifted his dark mane.

The air was warm and the Uchiha wondered if the people below could sense death approaching.

Could they smell it over the stench of their own foulness?

Could they hear its heavy footsteps slowly creeping over the mountains?

When they noticed that the air around them felt denser and heavier, did they realize that it was death breathing down their backs?

There was a huge smile across Madara's face as he pondered all of these things. His canines seemed more like fangs in the dim lighting.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice asked from behind.

"Good evening, Jin-san" Jin took a stance next to Madara. He placed his hands on top of the railing and leaned forward.

"Everything is so small and insignificant from here"

"It's insignificant regardless if you're standing on a mountain top or next to it"

"…Heh, I guess you're right"

"Do you have your militia ready?"

"I will deploy them at your command"

"Let's wait a little longer. I'm still savoring the moment" Madara licked his lips slowly. He eyed the village below like a hungry wolf that had found an injured fawn. The man inside Jin knew that expression very well.

* * *

The music was loud. It was obnoxiously loud. Its pounding beats were deafening to older eardrums. Fortunately, every person in that building was stuck somewhere in between child and adulthood. There was the constant chatter of superficial conversation. Bodies pressed up against each other partly because of the lack of space and mainly because their hormones compelled them to do so.

An Inuzuka boy was happily lost among the chaos. The bangs of his greasy brown hair bounced ever so slightly as strangers moved him from room to room. He gratefully accepted any cup that was passed to him. He drank its contents like it was water. Water never stung his throat so well. Eight cups of water and a trip to the bathroom later, the boy was once again moved into another room.

This room was different from all the others the boy had been tossed into. The music was softer and for the first time he could hear his own thoughts. The space was smaller and breathing was easier. His vision was blurry and his mouth tasted of alcohol and bile. An unfamiliar pair of hands reminded him of why he was brought here.

A blonde Yamanaka girl, her name he did not recall, explored the landscape of his inexperienced body. Her soft skin brushed and rubbed against places that should not be shared with strangers. He was hot and panting.

"What's your name?" he heard her whisper over the pounding in his own head.

The boy looked at the girl. Her green eyes were piercing through his own dark brown. He knew under normal circumstances this girl would not have given him a second glance, but the alcohol seemed to make her interested.

"Do you honestly care?" he finally responded.

The girl giggled happily while tracing the outline of his clan tattoos. Then she softly placed her lips on his.

The boy had a moment of sobriety.

She tasted of alcohol (or was that him again?) and missing innocence. His heavy breaths lightened. The pounding in his head had ceased and his vision cleared. His mind went silent and so did the room, but only for a second.

"Do you hear that?"

The Inuzuka was brought back to reality.

"Huh?" he stopped and listened to the loud barking coming from outside. He stuck his head through the window and found that it was his dog that was causing such a ruckus. Her barking became louder at the sight of her master.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

"She's scared"

"Of what?"

The music in the background stopped but was quickly replaced by the sound of screaming and crashing furniture. The Inuzuka began to lower himself out the window that was four stories above ground.

"What are you doing?"

He gave her an annoyed look.

"I'm not going to stay here long enough to find out what's goin' on"

He dropped down and landed safely on a pile of trashcans. The boy groaned at the pain in his backside. His canine companion ran to his side and happily licked at his face relieved that he was okay. He petted her soft white fur.

"Good girl"

"Are you okay?" the Yamanaka girl called from the window.

"I'm fine. Come on!" he yelled for her to comply.

"I'm not throwing myself out of a window I'll die!"

"If you stay in there you'll die! Don't worry I'll catch you"

The girl huffed at the ridiculous idea of a drunken man telling her to jump from four stories claiming that he'd catch her. Slowly she started to lower herself out of the window. There was a banging on the door then it was torn off its hinges. A group of men with the Uchiha emblem labeled across their chests rushed inside. The girl was hanging halfway out of the window.

"Hurry!" the boy screamed.

"Hey, one's trying to escape" one Uchiha ordered for her capture. Yamanaka was hanging from the ledge now.

"Jump!" the boy hollered. His dark brown eyes were praying that she'd make it. The girl inhaled deeply and let go. She released her breath as she felt herself fall. Then she stopped too soon for her to know she wasn't on the ground. The Uchiha men pulled her back inside. The girl struggled against them but she was too weak and intoxicated to do anything effective.

"Shit! Shit!" he cursed. His dog tugged at his pant leg urging him to follow her to safety.

* * *

"You've caused quite a scene, Madara-sama" Jin noted. He had grown accustomed to the sound of screaming since he returned to this world. Madara was accustomed to the sound since birth. The legend watched as families were slaughtered inside their own homes. He soon grew bored with it.

"This is getting a little monotonous. I'm going to make it more interesting" he declared. Jin took a few steps backward not knowing what to expect. Madara retrieved a familiar scroll from inside his sleeve. He summoned his monster of choice, Nibi.

The beast was extremely happy with being allowed to destroy two villages within the same week. It wasted no time in annihilating everything in its sight. Noble clan member or not everyone caught under Nibi's paws was crushed to death, and anything trapped in its flames fell to ashes.

Jin watched all of this from the balcony. The man inside him laughed with pure joy. To see the village he had grown to hate burn to the ground in a mere matter of minutes gave him the purest form of satisfaction, but soon Madara called for the beast to retreat and sent it away.

"I'll be making my exit now" he announced. Madara started to walk back inside the mansion.

"Madara-sama" Jin called. Madara looked over his shoulders. His dark eyes cut straight through Jin.

"What am I to do about Pein?" Madara suppressed the impulse to slice Jin into two symmetrical pieces. As of now the boy was still a part of the game he concocted in his head.

"Hmm?"

"As soon as Pein hears about this, he's going to come looking for me"

"Then you will send him to me and I will make him understand the rules to my game"

Jin was going to say something else but Madara disappeared from his sight.

* * *

Kenta emerged from a pile of ash and rubble coughing violently. His house had been destroyed in Nibi's attack. Just because the beast had vanished did not mean the chaos in the village had died down. The town was still on fire and the Uchiha militia continued to run rampant.

Kenta was positive some of his ribs were broken. There was a gnarly gash on his forehead and various cuts on his body. Every breath he took made him want to tear out his entire nervous system so he would be numb to everything.

Kenta walked to the clinic where Junko and her father worked. He ignored all of the confusion, death, and gore that lied around him. Junko was startled to see Kenta all bruised and bloody bursting into her office. Before he could explain anything, he blacked out from the sheer pain of being alive.

When Kenta regained consciousness, he found himself bandaged and stitched up. There was still pain but now it was bearable. He looked around the sterile white room and saw that he was alone. Junko had many more patients to attend to, so Kenta wandered to the roof of the building. The village was still burning. People were still screaming. The Uchihas were still killing. None of that seemed to bother Kenta at all.

"You really shouldn't be up here" Junko warned as she took a seat beside him. He didn't bother to make eye contact with her.

"Thanks for fixing me up…again"

"It was nothing" Junko gazed upon the town from the ledge. "It's a good thing the clinic is located so close to the Uchiha district or I doubt it would still be standing"

"…The village never looked so beautiful-"

The silver haired girl was caught off guard by his statement, but she sort of agreed with him. Her village was dying and this was the first time it ever seemed so alive.

"-and the best part is-" Kenta continued. "-that this is only the beginning. We are going to take the ashes of this town and build something other worldly"


	11. New Friends

The Uchiha, Madara, returned to his home in the Mist. He sat in his usual throne with his usual pet demon at his side. Across his face, there was a small smirk he could not suppress. The smirk grew into a full smile then the smile bloomed into a haughty laugh. Kyuubi growled menacingly at his master.

"Kyuubi, why are you in such a foul mood? You're spoiling it for me" the fox only grunted in response. Out of habit, Madara scratched the demon behind his ears, and naturally the fox withdrew from the physical contact.

"My apologies, Oh Great Madara-sama" The beast said in his usual mocking tone. "What is it that has you so excited?" he finished with a foul taste in his mouth.

"I convinced that family of mine to destroy their own village for me" Madara rested his chin in his hand while beaming with glee apparently he was proud of himself. Kyuubi was unimpressed.

"That's all? That was your 'Master Plan' all along? If that's all you wanted I could've obliterated that pathetic village in under twenty minutes" the fox huffed angrily and created a strong breeze that disturbed the entire room. "I serve under a weakling and an idiot. Immortality doesn't seem worth it anymore" the Uchiha listened patiently to Kyuubi. He was used to the fox's bitchy attitude.

"If you're quite finished, then I will explain" Kyuubi finally settled down. "The incident back in the leaf village was nothing more than a stunt to piss Pein off. I have much bigger plans I wish to carry out. Those plans will include Jin, and if you learn to watch your mouth, then I will include you too, Kyuubi-kun"

Kyuubi's infinite chakra flared dangerously high at his master's statement. His nine swishing tails created gusts that threatened to cave the room in. Madara never worried when his pet threw rampages.

"I'll leave you to have your temper tantrum"

Madara left the room and waited for the inevitable visit from his colleague.

* * *

The morning sun rose and shone onto the leaf village. It looked even worse in the daylight. Junko gazed out of her window from her bedroom that was adjacent to the clinic. Her eyes were baggy and her hair was a mess. The girl did not sleep last night. Between caring for the growing number of patients and trying to keep Kenta inside his room she did not have time to rest. Junko was also worried about Orochimaru. She found it interesting that within twenty four hours of his arrival, the entire town burned to the ground.

The door to her bedroom opened.

"Your wounds will never heal correctly if you don't stay in bed, Kenta"

Kenta brought her coffee and Junko let it rest on the window sill. There was a long but still comfortable silence. The two of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts.

"Jun-chan" her hair swayed slightly as she turned to face her comrade.

"Yes?"

"If you're so worried about Orochimaru-sama then just go see him" her cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. Junko did not know why Kenta's words embarrassed her but they did.

"W-who says I'm worried" she demanded.

"Didn't have to say it. Your facial expression says everything"

Soon the teenagers were entering the Uchiha manor. They knocked on their master's door.

"Enter"

Inside Orochimaru stood in the middle of the room. His silky black hair was cascading down his shoulders. The morning light intruded into the bedroom and gave his pale skin the illusion of warmth. Junko saw that her master was fine and was relieved, but she also realized that he was most likely part of the reason of last night's destruction.

"Good morning, Orochimaru-sama" Junko greeted.

"Oh yes, I was wondering if the two of you were still alive" that was what Orochimaru said but he did not sound genuinely concerned.

"What the hell happened last night anyway?" Kenta asked. The Sannin finally noticed all of Kenta's injuries.

"Seems like you got wrapped up in last night's fiasco, but you two don't need to worry yourselves about it" he patted the tops of their heads and ruffled their hair. The teens thought his actions were more degrading than affectionate. "I need a favor from the two of you"

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama" Junko said eagerly.

"Go out to the village and find all the surviving noble clan members that you can. Then bring them to the 44th district and I'll meet you there in the evening"

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later" he said simply before sending them off.

They searched through the village just as their master instructed. They had in fact found many clan members. The only problem was that they were all dead. Junko and Kenta looked for hours beneath the rock and wood of demolished buildings.

In the afternoon, they made their way into the Nara district. Junko led Kenta down what used to be an alley, but the buildings around the area were complete gone.

"Junko, slow down. No need to hurry"

"I'm not even walking fast. You should have just stayed in bed like I told you" The girl looked over shoulder and saw the pain Kenta's injuries caused him. "Fine we'll take a break"

The teens rested against a house that threatened to tumble down at the slightest movement. Junko took in the scenery around her. The smell of decaying corpses filled the air. She couldn't find a whole structure for miles. Her village was truly gone, but Junko couldn't bring herself to care.

"Kenta"

"Yeah"

"Do you honestly miss the village?"

"No" Junko was surprised that he answered so quickly and simply.

"Why?"

"You can't mourn something you never loved" she reflected on his words and the two rested in silence.

Suddenly, Kenta jumped to a small sound he heard. His body protested to such quick movements.

"What is it?"

"I heard something. It was kind of a whimpering noise. It's close by" the two of them got up to investigate. They soon found the culprit. A giant white dog was resting with her master. He lied there not moving a muscle. The dog noticed their arrival and watched them cautiously.

"Is he still alive?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know. I'll check" The dog growled at Junko's approach. The dog bared its fangs and stared down the intruders with piercing blue eyes. Junko did not heed the dog's warnings and stepped closer. The dog barked continuously as her final warning. Finally the unconscious boy woke.

"Shh" he said grabbing his head. The dog completely forgot about the intruders at the sound of her master's voice and moved to greet him. "Good girl" he said scratching the dog's belly.

"Are you okay?" the boy was startled at the sound of another human voice. He warily turned to face his visitors.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"What? No, of course not. Why would we do that?"

"Oh, my fault. I must've imagined all of the bloody murders that happened last night."

"I'm sorry, but the reason we're here is to help you" the boy cautiously step closer to Junko and Kenta sizing them up. When he stepped into the light Junko recognized his face tattoos. "You're an Inuzuka"

"Yeah, so?" he gave her a face of distrust.

"I guess it's not important. Anyway we were told to bring you to a safe place"

"Told by who?"

"You'll meet him later. Just come with us" Junko grabbed his arm and led him away. He reluctantly followed her.

They were traveling on their way to the 44th district. The path they chose took them through the Hyuuga district.

"Who are you guys anyway?"

"I'm Yakushi Junko and that's Kenta. What about you?"

"Everyone just calls me Koinu and this is my dog, Aoi" The teens continued to travel and made small superficial conversation. Junko and Koinu did most of the talking. Kenta only gave one word answers when a question was directed to him.

Aoi, who remained loyally at her owner's side the entire time, suddenly bolted off into the eastern direction. Koinu dashed after her calling her name. The canine stopped at an enormous pile of rubble, which used to be the Main Hyuuga House, and started digging.

"What are you doing?" the Inuzuka asked of his companion. He figured she had just smelled a squirrel or something. "Let's go"

Aoi ignored him and kept digging until a pale hand reached out of the dirt.

"Zombie!" Koinu screamed as he fell backward. Junko and Kenta ran over to see what all the noise was about.

"Someone's under there!" Junko got on her knees to help Aoi dig the person up. "What are you doing? Help" all four were digging to save the person. Soon, the person's torso emerged from the ground. He was gasping for air. His long light brown hair covered his pupil less eyes. Aoi licked his hand as a way to comfort him.

"Thank you so much" he managed to say after he caught his breath. Junko immediately examined him for any severe injuries. Miraculously, all of his wounds were small and insignificant.

"What's your name?" Junko inquired.

"Hyuuga Haru"

"Hi. I'm Junko that's Kenta and Koinu"

"And this is Aoi" Koinu added. "She's the one that saved you"

Haru smiled brightly at his saviors.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're here to help you"

* * *

Pein was in his office thinking of ways to deal with Madara knowing that the Uchiha was probably pondering ways to destroy him. Konan knocked on his door. The sound was soft and timid.

"Come in"

The woman entered with her head hung low. She dreaded being the one to bring such terrible news to her master. Pein picked up on her foul mood.

"What's wrong?"

Konan took a deep breath.

"…It's The Leaf Village…"

* * *

**A/N: Told you chpt 11 would come soon after 10 and if luck will have it 12 will be up before december. Feedback makes this all worth it.**


	12. High Tensions

Orochimaru, in the form of Jin, briskly walked the halls of the Uchiha manor. He had just completed a meeting with the elders on what they would do at Pein's inevitable arrival. Orochimaru, using Jin's voice and mannerisms, assured them that he could handle Pein and make him Madara's issue without bringing more destruction to the village.

In fact, Orochimaru had been wearing Jin's face for not even two full days but the sannin was already slightly irritated with it. The thing about changing hosts was that for a short while Orochimaru would blend together his memories and the memories of the host, or unconsciously practice some of the host's odd habits. Usually, those symptoms disappeared rather quickly but because the Sannin was required to use the host's original form as his disguise the effects were only intensified. Though the good side to this was that Jin and his memories were well preserved in his subconscious and any information Jin could provide was easily accessible.

Orochimaru continued his rampant musings as he entered the master bedroom. So engrossed within his own thoughts he seemed to not notice the shadowy figure standing along the northern wall of the room. Orochimaru stepped toward the western side of the room to step out onto the small balcony. He looked down at the village. It was so still that he actually wondered if Madara managed to kill everyone. The sun was setting across the horizon. A beautiful bright red filled the sky like blood spilling from a fresh wound, a perfect match for the recently destroyed town.

The dark figured still lurked in the shadows of the room not exactly hiding but just waiting for the right moment to speak. Orochimaru spoke first.

"I've been waiting for you all day" he walked back inside the room to face his visitor. The man stepped from the darkness but his body remained a black shadow. Orochimaru knew that technique well from his days in Akatsuki. If his visitor used that technique that meant his was not actually there in the room with Orochimaru which meant he could not kill him…yet.

"I assume you know why I'm here" his eyes were cold and distant.

"Oh, I could only guess" Orochimaru joked in a tone that was more so Jin's than his own. Pein was not in a humorous mood.

"What would convince you to commit such an atrocity?" the shadow trembled slightly suggesting that Pein was more angry than his voice conveyed.

"Convinced?" he scoffed unintentionally. "More like coerced and I think you know by who" the rin'negan user sighed in irritation, but it was not directed toward the other man. "It's not like I had any real options" Orochimaru said resentful of Pein's sour attitude.

"Of course, who else but him" he looked the other up and down. "There is no point in wasting anytime with you. By the way, There are numerous relief squads currently in this village. All survivors will be removed and brought to the Rain" the shadowy figure faded away without any formal words of departure. Orochimaru could not have cared less about that last statement. In his eyes Pein was only making his plans go even more smoothly.

Minutes before nightfall the group of teenagers arrived at the 44th district. It was fenced off, poorly, as an attempt to keep intruders away, not that anyone would have wanted to go there to begin with. A dense forest from which eerie noises produced from various animals echoed against the leaves. Aoi sniffed the air cautiously.

"You really are trying to kill me" Koinu declared upon seeing where Junko had led him. Even the young girl was reluctant to enter the district. She remained immobilized with fear. Until she saw Kenta proceeding to climb up the old fence.

"Kenta, come down!" she yelled at him. "You shouldn't be straining yourself in your current condition"

"…You are insufferable" he stated slowly without any real hint of irritation. Furious, Junko climbed after the older boy to make him come down. Haru followed after her, but the Inuzuka soon stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

"Following Yakushi-san" Haru ascended up the fence again and Koinu swiftly yanked him back down.

"How can you trust them so blindly" Haru stared deep into the Inuzuka with pupil-less eyes. The fact that his face was covered in dirt made him look intimidating despite his polite disposition. The dog owner flinched backward.

"Considering the events that occurred last night I doubt things could possibly get any worse" the Hyuuga smiled. "Besides, Aoi seems to trust them" Koinu turned to see his dog hurriedly digging underneath the fence to get to the other side. He looked to Haru and saw that he had started climbing again.

"This is insane" he affirmed hopelessly. Kenta was nearing the top of the fence with Junko nagging behind him about the health risks. She paused for a moment to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Haru soon passed her then Koinu after him. Aoi already dug her way to the other side. She barked with enthusiasm as a means to encourage her human down the badly built structure.

A few squirrels were startled from their hiding places. The gigantic dog pounced after them into the bushes sniffing the ground trying to catch her prey, but what she caught scent of was not that of a small mammal. The smell was much larger and ominous. It possessed a human like quality but Aoi wasn't convinced that it was entirely human. Aoi ran up to Koinu whimpering with her tail tucked between her legs. He used both of his hands to ruffle her fur as a means of comfort.

"What kind of hell did you drag us to? We haven't been here for two minutes and Aoi's already crying like a frightened pup"

"My, my, this one sure does like to complain." Shock caused the boy to emit a yelp. Orochimaru towered over him chuckling as he watched the boy pathetically scoot away. All this time Koinu could never look away from those golden eyes terrified by the apparent lunacy that filled them.

"Who are you?"

"Tsk. Junko, you haven't told your friend about me, huh?"

"Orochimaru-sama I…" The girl continued to say something pointless, so Orochimaru didn't bother to listen. He fixed his gaze on a curious Haru who stood next to the always silent Kenta.

"Oh, you've brought me a Hyuuga as well. It seems the two of you are already exceeding my expectations"

"Hyuuga Haru" the brunette bowed respectfully. "I am pleased to meet you, Orochimaru-sama" The Sannin placed one hand on his hip and smirked in amusement.

"What are you doing! Don't talk to him all polite and junk like you know him or something!" Koinu yelled frustrated.

"No disrespect, Koinu-san, but I'm polite to you and I don't know you either" Haru pointed out.

"Don't be a smartass" he pointed his finger directly at Orochimaru. "Who are you!" even Aoi flinched at his tone.

"Well, you certainly know how to bark like a dog. Perhaps, I could train you to bite like one as well"

"Train?" Haru chimed. "Like fighting?" Orochimaru nodded.

"Hmm yes, combat and other arts"

"Woah, arts?" the Inuzuka started again. His nerves were thinning into oblivion. "Arts like ninja arts?"

"Hmm"

"Oh-no" Koinu raised his arms slightly glaring accusingly at his peers. "You guys know that stuff's forbidden by law" he took in a ragged breath. "What if Pein finds out about this" His eyes became unnaturally wide as he thought of a fate even worse than Pein. "What if Madara finds out" Aoi whined when he spoke that name.

For all of the Inuzuka's screaming and warnings Orochimaru only laughed. The other teens remained silent for their individual reasons. Haru wordlessly reevaluated his interest of following Junko after hearing the Inuzuka's ranting. The girl remained quiet because she knew Orochimaru would only make her shut up if she decided to voice her opinion. And Kenta… Well, Kenta had not said more than a few words since they arrived. Koinu was breathing heavily exhausted from all his yelling. Finally, Orochimaru spoke.

"I'm not a man who likes to force people against their will. If you don't want to follow me then I won't make you" His smile was predatory. The dog boy waved away those words as if they meant nothing.

"I'm out of here" Aoi followed his footsteps.

"One minute" both the dog and the owner turned their heads over their shoulder.

"What gives old man? You said I don't have to be apart of this"

"True, but I never said that I'd let you walk away from it either" Koinu heard the unspoken ultimatum. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear the Sannin chuckled. The prey could not run away. Expecting the Inuzuka to fall back and submit like his peers, everyone, even Aoi, was surprised when he growled like an angry beast.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" the way those greasy bangs fell over his raging eyes and the dirt on his face combined with the grime under his too long fingernails made Koinu resemble some feral wolf-like child. Junko nervously readjusted her glasses. She had grown a developing hatred of tense situations over the past week. Kenta and Haru watched intently as if they were viewing a brilliant performance.

It had been literally centuries since Orochimaru had seen so much desperation, fear, and passion in someone other than himself. He really was grateful. However, Koinu was far from finished. "Who the hell are you to tell me I can't walk away!" his chest was heaving as if he was going to morph into something less human. He breathed too hard. "You're not Pein or Madara! If you're such an amazing ninja how come the entire world bows down to those two but not you?" Orochimaru half expected that whatever came out the boy's mouth next not to be actual words but unintelligible grunts instead. "I bet I could kill you here with my bare hands" he sneered.

A laugh physically jumped out the man's chest. He had been locked away for so long that he had forgotten that he could laugh this much.

"Panic has made you delusional, stupid child" he said calmly.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I"

The boy lunged ready to use nails as claws and teeth as fangs. Merely taking a few steps backward was enough to avoid such a sloppy assault.

"Inuzuka-san," Junko pleaded. "Be rational. Stop this" the words were lost on him as he launched his second attack. The girl looked behind her when she heard Kenta mummer something undecipherable. She knew it was about her because Haru chuckled lightly but stopped abruptly when he saw Junko looking.

Koinu was relentless in his futile fury. His fists swung and missed by margins. If he wasn't so inexplicably angry he would have been embarrassed. Aoi whined for to stop but he couldn't hear her, or Orochimaru's condescending remarks, or the flow of the river only a few feet away.

For every one punch he threw Orochimaru took only one step backward. The longer this continued it became more of a game. They were on the river's edge. The Sannin realized this but Koinu was blinded by that taunting smirk on the other's face. He swung again. One foot was on the water's surface. Another bad throw and both feet stood on top of the current. The others were amazed by this display. A final swing sent him diving right into the river. He resurfaced only to be sent back under by Orochimaru's foot on top of his head. He was not kept down for long. Koinu gasped desperate for air. The older man walked across the water back to land and Koinu doggy paddled after him.

"Have you changed your mind, stupid child?" Koinu shook himself dry just as a dog would. He was pleased with himself small droplets of water landed on Orochimaru's face. He wiped them away without any trouble.

"Whatever" Idly he scratched the back of his head.

"Glad to hear it. Do the rest of you need more convincing?" the distant hooting of owls filled the silence among the teenagers.

"Good. It's late. The three of you rest well" he pointed to the boys. "Come with me, Yakushi" he held out his hand. The instant Junko grabbed it the two of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Haru awed at this magic.

"Wow. These past couple days have been crazy, huh?" he nudged the Inuzuka lightly.

"Piss off"

"Hmm I see your swim earlier didn't help cool you down any" he was the only one to laugh.

Kenta prepared a fire for the three of them. Every time the flame crackled his eyes flickered with delight. They three young men huddled silently around the fire. Haru gave up on trying to coax polite conversation out of either Koinu or Kenta.

"I'm not afraid of him" the Inuzuka stated over the soft purr of the fire. The other two gave him understanding silence instead of patronizing words. Koinu continued to talk. "I wasn't scared back there with him" like a mirror, the hungry flames reflected painfully recent memories in his sad brown eyes. His dog whimpered sympathetically against him.

* * *

With his feet resting on the oak wood desk Madara danced both index fingers in a gleeful manner as he hummed a silly tune he recalled from his childhood, however long ago that was.

"Ba-bababa-ba" he sang. Midnight hair bounced with each note. His happily beaming eyes shifted around his office. It was filled with an innumerable amount of unfinished legal work that he promised one of his dozens of assistants that he would finish. Madara kicked a small stack of papers onto the floor just for the hell of it. "I'll get to it when I get to it" Then he returned to his silly song.

He was halfway through the second verse when his office door was thrust wide open. The wind scattered documents all over the floor and his lap. The visitor stepped through the doorway but his shadow lingered in the hall.

"Mmm good evening, Pein" Madara moved in front of the desk to greet the other properly. Pein only stared with eyes as red as his hair. "Ah, I see. You're in one of your moods again" the older more than equal partner posed himself with both fists on his hips and leaned forward only slightly challenging his junior.

"Come on now. Tell me what's on your mind" then Pein just did it landed a punch right in the Uchiha's nose. The blow caused him to stand upright once more. Madara felt the blood flow down like water from a broken faucet. A grateful smile crept across the legend's face. "Good. Now that that's out of the way we can talk"

"Actually" Pein smirked. "I didn't venture here to talk. My business with you is already taken care of" Madara returned to his seat. Pein was offered a chair but declined.

"I hear you have relief squads in Konoha. Tell me, who do you think has more survivors, Earth or Fire country?"

"You're a sick fuck" Pein practically spat the words right in Madara's eye.

"Maybe that's true, but you're just as bad as myself" Madara raised an eyebrow analyzing how his partner reacted to his statement. Clenched fists and a tightened jaw said that his words hit hard.

"Not even slightly" the words strained through white teeth.

"Oh yes. Some things I've done recently have been quite cruel. I'll admit that, but I think it's just the same to just let me do it" Pein tried his hardest to seem stoic as Madara continued. "I mean I never hid anything from you. Take Earth country for example. I told you my plan. You objected of course but only verbally. In the end as the village burned down to nothing you were right by my side simply allowing it to happen" the words sank in Pein's mind like a brick thrown into a lake. Madara's crocodile grin combined with the blood on his face truly reflected his manic soul. Pein only wanted to punch is mouth in repeatedly until the Uchiha's entire face collapsed within itself. He walked into the hall his shadow followed him.

"Oh, and I will pay you back for this" Madara pointed to his face. Pein did not release his breath until after he rounded the corner.

A maid, short and pudgy, strolled into Madara's office doing her daily chores. Her well aged face was struck with surprise upon seeing her master's face.

"What can I do for you, Madara-sama" she asked while giving him a tissue for his nose. He pushed past her. New ideas and plans formed in his head. Madara glided down the hall singing his silly song.

"Clean up this mess, Momo-chan" her name wasn't really Momo but he didn't really care. That was how he addressed all of his servants.

"Hai…" she sighed as she sighted the white sea of crumpled paper.

* * *

Orochimaru lied in Jin's bed. His hair sprawled out across the white pillows in an ink blot fashion. Sleep no longer came naturally to him anymore. Maybe because imprisonment in that realm was less like punishment and more like a prolonged dream with all the magic and wonderment removed from it. The Sannin did not want to rest. He had spent the last half of the millennia sleeping. He was desperate for kinetic motion.

"The windmill has been still for so long" he explained to the ceiling. He held one soft pillow high above his head. Creases appeared and vanished as he contorted the fabric to impossible angles. White cotton poured like a mini flurry onto his face. He reveled in the sensation. The touch of the cotton was real, tangible; not some illusion or fantasy.

* * *

_Miraculously, sleep decided to visit him that night. He rarely dreamed and for that he was thankful._

_"Are you going to make me call for you every time I come here?" Orochimaru scanned the empty space of whiteness._

_"My lord?" Jin appeared in a kneeling position as usual._

_"Stand up, you're pathetic" Jin did as instructed. "How come I don't dream?" he asked abruptly._

_"What makes you think this isn't a dream?" it wasn't a challenge of logic but a genuine question._

_"Because I know you're real. I have your body and your mind. A human soul can not be lost only suppressed"_

_"Hmm" Jin nodded as if his master had just passed some sort of hidden test. "You don't dream because you don't sleep. You don't sleep because you're afraid to dream, and when you do sleep you come to me instead" Orochimaru already knew that but it held no validity until he heard it from someone else. "While you're here we should talk, My lord" Jin leaned casually against a nonexistent wall ready to listen._

_"You're going to play therapist with me now?" the man sneered._

_"Well, you spend most of your day talking to naïve teenagers. You could use some adult conversation"_

_"I don't want to talk"_

_"What do you want, My lord?"_

_"…" Orochimaru longed for something humans had yet to create a word for. Jin tried for a more concrete subject._

_"What are you going to do about Pein and Madara?" Jin raised an eyebrow when he heard the Sannin scoff._

_"At this rate I won't have to do anything. Just by how they talk about one another you can tell they're close to biting each other's throats out" he recalled the incident between Madara and one unfortunate clan elder. A wicked smile crept across his features. "I'd love to see the two of them in a room together. It must be like cramming a cobra and a mongoose into a small cage together" Jin chuckled lightly._

_"And who is the mongoose?"_

_"…I wonder"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh i can't even remember the last time I updated....Sorry? I hope you liked it. **


	13. Note Passing

Underneath gray blankets Junko tossed and turned in well deserved sleep. Jin's frame waited next to her watching her rest. The girl moaned softly lost in her dreams and oblivious to the reality around her.

"Junko" He said not at all gently. Junko jumped suddenly mumbling nonsense as she made the transition from fantasy to real life.

"Good morning, Orochimaru-sama" She yawned.

"You haven't forgotten what I told you last night, have you?"

Junko sat up with her silver hair falling sloppily over her shoulders now completely focused.

"Of course not" Her tone serious. "Look, I wrote everything down. All of your instructions are right here" Two folded pieces of paper rested on the nightstand adjacent to her bed. This surprised Orochimaru but still it didn't surprise him at all. He read them over. The neat penmanship was easy on his tired eyes.

"Good. Just make sure they receive everything that they need"

"Hai"

Then he left out through her window.

Kenta was the first to wake, the night before he was the last to sleep. He caught sight of Junko approaching the campsite. She brought fresh clothes and bandages with her.

"Good morning Kenta-san"

"…Jun-chan" He greeted.

"Oh you're in really talkative today" She joked. It was a terrible joke in Kenta's opinion but he still attempted to smile for her. Attempted and failed.

"Here, let me change your bandages" the young girl talked to him during the process but the conversation wasn't completely one-sided for once. Time to time Kenta responded with a "Hmm" or "Okay".

She handed him the piece of paper before she returned to the village.

"Those are Orochimaru-sama's instructions for you and Koinu"

"Hmm"

"And give this one to Haru"

"Okay"

The afternoon sun beat down harshly on the broken village. There were no building or trees or anything to provide some shade.

"Ah, the heat is ridiculous" The Inuzuka howled. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the unforgiving rays. Aoi panted like any dog would in this weather.

"Hey, where are you dragging me to now?" Kenta wiped the sweat from his brow.

"…Rice Field Country" Koinu released his irritation in a giant huff.

"Ah man that's like forever from here" Kenta approximated that the journey was only a day and half. Though he did not verbalize his thought he was not excited about leaving for Rice Field Country after being home for not even three days, not that he still had a home anyway.

"Let's cut through the Aburame district. It'll be faster" Normally that was not the case, however, now all that remained of said district were half standing green houses. The rest of the area was for the most part flat land. Because of that the village gates stood visibly tall in the distance. Kenta trekked the newly leveled land silently but Koinu did not. With his hands resting on the top of his head he whined about everything that crossed his mind from Orochimaru to Uchihas and ninjas. Aoi yawned.

Kenta was somewhat alarmed to find the land not littered with the bodies of the Aburame. There was no possible way that every individual of the Aburame survived the destruction. The Uchiha authority had not cleared all of the town's corpses in a two day period. Kenta doubted the Uchiha even worried about the decaying flesh in the streets. They passed through a barely standing greenhouse. There was nothing green about it anymore. All the plants had burned to death when the Nibi made this structure an incinerator. Kenta and Koinu proceeded recklessly without the fear of destroying precious plant life. Aoi moved cautiously in front of the boys with her senses on high alert. They past couple of days had taught her that danger could be lurking anywhere.

Her blue eyes spotted a slumped over figure in the exit way. It twitched slightly. Aoi growled.

"Hey you! You okay man?" Koinu called to the person. They body jumped slightly startled by the sound of another human voice. The boys jogged up to the person. Koinu hushed the still growling Aoi. They found an Aburame man who was still young but older than both Kenta and Koinu. His hair was as dark as and even longer than Orochimaru's. It was a tangled nightmare. The man studied the kids through a pair of black shades. He did not respond to the Inuzuka's concern.

Kenta noticed that the man was hugging himself tightly as if he was injured. Kenta didn't see or smell any blood.

"What's wrong with you?" He was less worried than he was annoyed. The man was silent for a few minutes. He stared hard at Kenta through almost opaque glasses. The sudden silence was irking Koinu.

"Answer the damn question"

The Aburame nodded deciding that the other two males were trustworthy. He unfolded his arms and revealed the object he had been cradling. He held out a glass jar as if he was giving an offering to a god. Koinu slid backward when he saw the contents of the jar.

A shiny black beetle used its six legs to crawl up the sides of its current holding cell. Also many smaller insects scuttled out of the Aburame's trench coat sleeves to the jar trying to free the glossy beetle from its imprisonment.

"Gross, I hate roaches" Koinu turned his head away.

"Beetles" the stranger corrected. The voice was deep and raspy. "This is the queen. She's going to lay her eggs soon. If I don't find a proper nest for her then the entire species will die off"

"Are you the only survivor?" The man frowned at the question.

"No. As soon as Pein squads arrived they abandoned this place with great enthusiasm"

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Because neither the queen nor her offspring could survive that journey. Enen if they did, they certainly could not survive in the wet habitat of Rain Country." His voice was still raspy but passionate. "You're leaving too aren't you?" They both nodded. "Then don't let me stop you"

Before Kenta left he said one last thing to the Aburame stranger.

"You should go to the clinic and ask for Junko… Maybe she can help you"

"…Hmm"

The clinic was a hectic mess. It was being overrun by relief medics from Rain who had every intention of helping but they were actually delaying progress. The waiting room was packed at full capacity which made patients irritable and the outside heat didn't help any.

"What is this nonsense!?" Mr Yakushi demanded of the foreign medic that had taken charge of his private business.

"Everything is fine, Yakushi-san, relax" the medic replied with a sense of aloof.

"This is not fine! This is a mess! A mockery of my profession!" Junko removed her father from the scene before he committed some irrational act.

"Tou-san" she said soothingly, "calm down"

"But Jun-chan, it's chaos out there" she smiled softly and he became a little less stiff. A little.

"Yes there methods are different, but we really need the help. Were a clinic not a hospital" the man sighed releasing the tension from his muscles.

"You know, you look just like your mother when you chide me like that" that was a lie if Junko ever heard one. From what Junko remember of her, her mother had short dark hair and bright green eyes. If Junko had bushy white eyebrows and a thick stiff mustache then she would had been a clone copy of her father. She found the statement somewhat offensive but she humored him for the sake of his sanity.

From the waiting room came shrieks and cries of disgust. This sent Mr Yakushi off into another fit. There was no time to pacify her father because someone was feverishly calling her name. Assuming the voice belonged to Kenta she rudely pushed past other medics to fix whatever had went horribly wrong. To her surprise she did not find her comrade but the Aburame stranger. Junko cringed at the sight of the tiny dark insects crawling up and down the lengths of his alarmingly pale hands.

"Do you want some insecticide?" she wasn't joking which was good because the Aburame lacked a sense of humor anyway. He indicated to the bug in the jar.

"A man said you could help my beetles"

"I'm a people doctor"

"Shut up and listen" he snapped displeased with her condescending tune. Yakushi was equally upset with his. She folded her arms as she listened to his explanation.

"I have maybe just a few hours before the queen lays her eggs. If I do not find a proper nest then this species of beetle will be extinct by the end of tomorrow"

Junko thought of all the things she found to be more important than endangered insects. Although she came up with a handful of ideas, she was naturally a compassionate human and therefore she was compelled to help him. Then the girl remembered that the 44th district was full of wildlife. Maybe the queen could make her nest there.

"Okay I'll help you. What's your name again?"

"…Mushi"

Junko took Mushi outside away from the ears of the foreign doctors and directed him to the 44th district where his queen would safe.

Haru returned to the remains of the Hyuuga mansion.

"Alright" he scanned the words on the note that had been left for him and read them out loud. "…find some place where valuable items could be hidden discreetly"

He stood at the same place where Junko and the others had dug him free. Haru got down to his knees and with great effort pushed aside all the dirt and debris that had once buried him alive. This proved to be quite a laborious task to do alone in the intense heat. Finally, the dirt spread far enough to reveal a door made of steel. Haru opened the hatch and jumped inside. The inside was much more spacious than the small door hatch initially led on.

This was a panic room. The Hyuuga's built in centuries ago in case of emergencies similar to the one that occurred two nights ago. Because the room could only be locked from the inside Haru had no fear of letting the door slam behind him. Fifty people could have easily fit inside the dark space, but Haru was the heir to the Hyuuga throne and thus the only one allowed to take refuge in the panic room.

"I don't know what he plans to put in here but I'm sure it'll fit"

Jin's nails steadily drummed against the surface of the table in merciless boredom. He was stuck in another meeting with the elders. Balancing on the back to legs of his chair he half way listened to their mindless squawking. Jin glanced over at the empty chair that used to belong to that one unfortunate elder. He laughed out loud.

"Is there something you wish to share with the rest of us, Jin-sama?" a bitter old hag said to him. Jin cleared his throat when all those old sunken eyes were staring at him.

"Well…" he coughed again, "I was just agreeing with what you were saying…about the topic we are discussing, Baa-sama" he ended his sentence with another cough. She nodded approvingly of what he just said.

"See, you old fool, even our leader thinks we should just stay out of the affairs of Pein and Madara"

The old fool she was referring to only scowled at Jin.

"What does this young man know? Madara and Pein have always had their squabbles throughout the centuries and they have always found a way to get us involved. This time is no different"

"Which is exactly why we need to choose a side" spoke up another elder. Jin was already bored again.

"No, what we need to do is to stop letting them bully us around" said the hag. Her white hair was starting to come loose from her bun. "Right, Jin-sama?"

"Huh? ... I mean yeah absolutely" Jin motioned for the servant girl to give him more tea.

"And why do you think that?" the old fool asked with his bald head shining.

"Because" he stressed the s sound, "Pein is bad" he paused to think of the right words, "but Madara is worse"

"Is that how you feel about family!" the bald man accused.

"He destroyed our town and murdered our brother right in front of us. Is that what you call family?" The hag shrieked. Jin sipped his tea gingerly.

"All I'm saying is that a war is going to break out between them. I can feel it in the air. My only concern is that we end up of the winning side. Madara is powerful he won't lose"

"Don't confuse power with cruelty"

"What is your final decision, Jin-sama"

The younger man choked on his tea as all eyes shifted to him once again.

"It's clear that this is a very confusing issue. I say as of right now there is no need to choose sides now"

"Or ever" the hag butted in.

"Right. Our main concern should be restoring the village back to efficiency. It's not like hell's going to rain down from the sky tomorrow morning" Actually the man inside him loved to see the village in its current condition. But to achieve his goals he needed resources and he wasn't going to find them underneath a pile of junk.


	14. RTK 14

The journey to Rice Field Country was a bumpy one. The boys rode in a wooden cart furnished with stiff dry straw. Strong healthy oxen pulled this cart along the rugged path. Kenta and Koinu sat across from each other avoiding eye contact and conversation. A giant mound of white fluff, Aoi, slept peacefully between the two of them.

The first few minutes were spent in silence. Kenta found comfort in the muted atmosphere, but Koinu, who was garrulous by nature, grew anxious in the silence.

"So, Kenta-san…" he awkwardly picked at the significant amount of dirt that accumulated under his fingernails. "You wouldn't happen to have a surname?"

Kenta appeared to not had heard him as he continued to stare off into the pale blue sky.

"Umm Kenta-san?"

"…No, I don't" Koinu was learning that Kenta was not unfriendly just abnormally quiet. An endless amount of pushing was needed to obtain the actual information he wanted.

"What's the deal? You don't have parents?"

"Everyone has parents"

"Uhh yeah, but that's not what I meant" he scratched his head hoping to words would fall from his unkempt hair. "What I mean is… I don't know. Don't you have a family, sorta?"

Kenta finally made eye contact. His expression was not quite aloof and not quite interested.

"Not anymore. I had a dad once"

"Tell me about him" Koinu folded his legs, and the other averted his gaze again.

"No"

Koinu only sighed at Kenta's hermit like qualities.

In Rice Field Country Kenta returned with Koinu and Aoi to Orochimaru's Underground lair. His enthusiasm for visiting his place a second time was overwhelmingly low. Maybe that was due to the fact on his initial visit he had received venomous snake bites, and for a completely different reason, he spent several hours convulsing violently on the floor. The Inuzuka , on the other hand, stood in front of the entrance amazed by the architecture. Koinu made his way to the entranced, but he stopped he noticed the Aoi was not following. He clapped twice commanding her to come with him. She growled firmly standing her ground.

"She has the right idea" Kenta said passing by a frustrated Koinu.

All frustration disappeared when the young boy was inside the lair. He awed the serpentine patterns on the ancient stone walls. Kenta noticed his comrade reaching to touch the walls. He snatched the other's hand away.

"Don't touch"

They navigated the sinuous halls with the aid of a crudely drawn map Junko had provided on the back of his instructions. Both seriously doubted she tried to make her drawing of squiggles decipherable.

"Hey, what are we looking for again?"

"…Library"

"This whole thing is stupid" then something caught his eye. "What is this?" He was pointing at two gigantic wooden doors. The handles were secured with chains that might had been effective maybe a few centuries ago. A simple tug from Kenta's brutish hands was enough to break the chains apart.

"This is it"

Orochimaru's library was both expansive and crowded. All the shelves were at least ten feet tall. Each of them crammed with all kinds of knowledge. The pathways between the shelves were quite narrow. Kenta had trouble moving his bulking frame through the passage ways. The library had a labyrinth setup, and because of this, both boys were separated from each other within minutes. However, they were too distracted by the unfathomable size of the library to notice.

Even though books were every where, it was impossible to read the titles because of the thick blankets of dust that covered them.

Koinu lifted a random book and flipped through the pages. A cloud of dust rose from the pages and he sneezed violently as it assaulted his face.

"…The Fundamentals of Human Chakra" his face contorted into an expression of puzzlement. "Chakra?" He picked up another and skimmed the title. "Kinjutsu?"

Koinu feared the ominous apprehension slowly budding inside the pit of his stomach.

"Inuzuka-san!" startled, he dropped the books which caused another eruption of dust.

"Inuzuka-san, where are you?" Koinu looked around and saw nothing but more books and even more dust.

"..I don't know"

A week passed when Kenta and Koinu returned to the Leaf Village. It was really late, and the moon was hidden behind passing clouds. They rode in on a small cart pulled by an old ox Kenta had bought from a poor farmer back in Rice Field Country. The cart was stacked with crates labeled Rice. In actuality, those crates were stuffed with book from the library. Haru was waiting for them with a warm greeting.

"Inuzuka-san, Kenta-san, Follow me" Haru commanded with a smile on his face.

* * *

A small servant was down on her knees sweeping up the shattered pieces of a vase that had recently became the target of her master's rage. She hurriedly removed more fragments from the path as Konan entered the suite. Konan looked around and sighed at the mess her master had created. She gently dismissed the small girl from her current chore.

"You must find a better outlet for your anger, Pein-sama" Pein was pacing in the corner of his room mumbling curses of all sorts. "Pein-sama?"

"He's a sick son of a bitch!" Pein screamed in her face. His eyes were almost as red as his hair. Konan nodded her head in agreement.

"You have to calm yourself" but as she said this he had already sent a small table crashing through one of the windows. After the noise subsided, he fell to his knees in a relentless coughing fit. When he raised his head, blood stained his mouth and shirt.

"Oh dear, it's time for your feeding" Konan said softly. She helped him off of the floor. "Come with me"

His coughs left small splatters of blood across the carpet.

* * *

_Orochimaru was standing in the middle of a green meadow under a vivid blue sky. He was confused because he didn't know where he was or why he was there. The ground began to tremble. He turned to the west. A magnificent crimson bird soared across the horizon leaving a blazing trail of fire behind it. The flames reduced the sky and the earth to ash as the creature continued its swift approach._

_From the east, another beautiful bird glided toward the other. Its feathers were as black as midnight. The glossy wings engulfed its side of the world in swirling clouds of darkness._

_Orochimaru observed the two birds seemingly intent of destroying each other. He wondered how he would stop them. Then he wondered if he even could stop them. Then he wondered if he even should stop them._

_On one side, Orochimaru was surrounded by raging fire, on the other, a spiraling abyss threatened to swallow him. The green underneath his feet was rapidly dissipating._

_Finally, Orochimaru wondered if he would be consumed by flames or darkness._

* * *

"Jin-sama, please let go!"

Jin awoke to find himself choking the life out of some poor servant girl. He released her before her shiny brown eyes became dull and lifeless. His breathing was heavy as he was still living the vividness of his dream.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I know it's rude to wake you at this hour, but the elders have called another meeting and your attendance is required"

Jin had to ball his hands into fist to prevent them from groping the girl's again.

"Is that all?" he strained to sound less murderous. The girl realized she was in danger and hurriedly dismissed herself.

* * *

**A/N: Finally updated, but yeah it short and not much happened. My life has been ridiculously busy lately and the only reason I updated is because I found my notebook on the floor and a surge of guilt hit me hard. However, it is spring break so I will most definately be working on this. A final note: I don't like taking so long to update, and I'm sure you don't like it either. So to help the process you guys have to nag and pester me about updating. Blackmail me or something. I don't know just motivate me. **


	15. RTK 15

In the early morning, the door to the meeting room was slammed open startling all of the elderly inside.

"I know what we must do!" Jin loudly exclaimed to the room of hearing impaired elders. He skipped any proper formalities in the beginning of this early meeting. Not that he had ever followed any formalities prior. The grey hag greeted him with a smile without showing her teeth. Although, Jin was certain she had very few teeth to show. Across from her, the bald man glowered as he saw Jin enter the room.

"Tell us, Jin-sama"

"It came to me in a dream" he was now using a volume more appropriate for indoors.

"So you're a prophet now" the bald man said sarcastically.

"No, but he is our leader. Show him the proper respect!" the hag chided. Jin continued talking before the two of them could start their irritating bickering.

"The answer to our problems with Pein and Madara is to do" he glanced around the table to make sure everyone was paying attention to him.

"…nothing"

"What? That's hardly a solution at all! It isn't a solution at all!" the bald man rose from his seat in protest. The other elders shifted slightly in their seats. They were also not quite comfortable with Jin's idea.

"Sit down, you old fool. Let Jin explain himself"

"Thank you, Baa-san." Jin bowed respectfully. "The only way to deal with Pein and Madara with minimal damage is to just let them destroy each other. It's not wise to try to break up a savage dog fight"

"A wise choice indeed, Jin-sama" the hag commented. Jin nodded then left the room immediately to avoid having to argue with anyone who might have wanted to voice his or her own opinion.

"For our sake, you better hope you're right" the bald man muttered under his breath.

In the 44th district, Junko peered over the shoulder of Aburame Mushi curious about the progress of his bug survival mission. The queen had laid her yesterday, and Mushi had been monitoring her eggs and the colony since then. Luckily, they had lasted through the night. The forest was not the beetles' natural habitat, but they seemed to be adapting well. Junko noticed the insects moved in a deliberate zigzag pattern along the bark of a tree.

"What are they doing?"

"They're building a new nest for the colony"

"Oh" The young girl leaned a little more over Mushi to gain a better view.

"You didn't seem too interested in my bugs yesterday" Junko fell back a little at his statement though he had not meant it as an attack but simply an observation. She giggled awkwardly to defuse any tension between them.

"Uhh yeah about that…My father and I are kind of obsessive about the cleanliness and hygiene of our clinic. Here in the wilderness I don't mind them at all"

"There just as organized as you are, you know"

Mushi's sunglasses made eye contact impossible. His voice was a dull monotone which made Junko feel more like she was speaking to Kenta than anyone else. However, she was certain Kenta would never talk as much as Aburame.

"Yes, I see"

For a few minutes the two of them just sat there observing the bugs work to ensure their survival. Then Mushi broke the silence.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I figured you'd have more important things to do back at your clinic. Surely, you're not just sitting here to look at my insects"

"Haha. Well, no. I'm actually waiting for quite a few people…"

"Aren't you quite the social butterfly, Jun-chan" a silk voice chuckled from behind her.

"Orochimaru-sama" she recognized him immediately. Behind him were Haru, Koinu riding on top of his dog, and Kenta holding very dusty books on various subjects. Haru greeted her and Mushi with his polite smile as was his routine.

"I have a question for all of you. There is no wrong answer, so be honest with me" somehow Orochimaru still managed to sound threatening. He looked each of them up and down and noted their expressions before continuing. "I want to know…If Madara and Pein were to fight to the death who would win?"

"Pein!" Haru and Koinu shouted without hesitation.

"Madara!" Junko and Kenta spewed just as quickly.

No sooner had they shouted their answers the four of them started to argue amongst themselves. They screeched at each other in a fashion similar to the elders in the meeting room. Orochimaru kept his amusement to himself and listened. Mishu continued to survey his beetles.

"Are you fucking retarded?" Koinu all but screamed in Junko's face. He nearly fell off of Aoi's back by doing so. Before she could reply Haru spoke for the Inuzuka.

"I think what Inuzuka-san is trying to explain to you is that Pein obviously has some kind of hold on Madara. Why else would Madara keep him around?"

Junko straightened her glasses before replying.

"Madara just destroyed this village a little more than a week ago, but Pein's the one sending help to us"

"So, what? Just because Pein's not a totally jerk off doesn't make weaker than Madara" The Inuzuka scoffed at her.

"My point is that if Pein is so against letting people suffer why doesn't he just stop Madara from causing it?"

Orochimaru raised his hand signaling that he had heard enough. He had another question and based on the teenagers little debate he already knew the answer, so he didn't waste it on them. Orochimaru turned his attention to Mushi.

"Let me ask you something" the Aburame said nothing. He only waited for the Sannin to continue. "If you had to be partners with either Madara or Pein, who would you choose?"

"That's a dumb question" Mushi did not say this disdainfully, so maybe that's why Orochimaru was able to keep his patience and waited for the boy to elaborate. "That's like asking me 'would I rather drown in a river, or be burned alive in a furnace?' It doesn't matter. The point is I would still die"

Orochimaru found himself rather pleased with Mishu's response. The others stuck stubbornly to their own ideas.

"Now, Children, those are all very awful ideas. So, I'm going to combine them all into one good idea"

"…What?" Koinu scratched his head in confusion.

"Simple child, let me just tell you." Orochimaru patted his head in condescending matter. "We are going to partner ourselves with both Pein and Madara while making it seem like we're not aligned with anyone"

"How are we possibly going to be able to pull that off, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Easy, Jun-chan. At your current physical and mental abilities my plan is bound to fail. That's why I'm going to train you into the above average shinobi I need you to be" He snatched one of the books out of Kenta's hand and tossed it to her. "You'll start by reading one of these books from front to back by tomorrow. That's when your first training session begins." He turned to walk away. "Oh Junko, you can share your book with the new guy" then he disappeared from sight.

"I didn't ask to be apart of this" Mushi objected.

"Yeah. Well, turns out this ain't exactly voluntary" Koinu said bitterly.

* * *

"Hmm. Kyuubi I wonder what our friends in Rain Country are doing"

The fox exhaled heavily through his nose.

"Hopefully, thinking of ways to destroy you"

Madara combed his hand through his black mane.

"I was thinking the same exact thing. Tell me, Kyuubi-kun, if given the chance would you kill me?" he knew the answer before even asking the question. Kyuubi slammed one of his nine tails against the concrete floor. The impact left a devastating crater in the middle of the room. "I thought you might say that." Madara began to laugh obnoxiously. "I have the most powerful demon under my immediate control. Pein thinks he can really stop me" his laughter grew louder. Kyuubi turned his head clearly annoyed. Madara laughed and laughed until his lungs became labored and his chest rattled. Soon he was coughing harder than a chain smoker. His head was in his lap when his coughing subsided. His mouth was filled with the taste of blood and his pants were stained red.

"Watch your ego, Madara." The fox warned. "You still have your weaknesses like all pathetic humans do. You keep running around with your _borrowed_ immortality acting like your some kind of god. Both you and Pein will both fall, and in the end, I'll be the only one left laughing"

Madara grasp the nape of Kyuubi's neck with enough force to tear the fur from the skin of any ordinary animal. Slowly, the orange glow of the demon's chakra swirled around the Uchiha's arm. The evil aura danced seductively around his body until it was finally drawn inside the necklace. Afterwards, Madara looked just as healthy as he did a few minutes ago. Before he released Kyuubi from his hold, he gave the fox icy cold glare that even Kyuubi wasn't entirely sure how to interpret it.

"I'm glad we had this talk" Madara smiled before leaving Kyuubi's presence.

* * *

**A/N:...it's five in the morning. **


End file.
